Rocking to the Sound of my Heart
by Psycheclone
Summary: Parappa had the girl of his dreams, great friends and a fairly adventurous life! But now Sunny moved away leaving him heartbroken and alone. In a group friend effort to cheer him up, not only do they help him get back into the groove of things, but also on track towards his next big adventure! Twists and turns, love and loss. What could happen? Only time can tell in this new tale!
1. Memories of Happier days Part 1

Parappa, age 4

In an unusually quiet and calm day in PaRappa Town, we see the steady calm silence break when the Rappa family is on the search for their energetic child that had just gone missing.

"Dear are you sure he ran this way?" Said a tall canine woman with blonde hair to her husband, an also moderately tall canine man with a small hat on his head, as they rush around town.

"Of course! ...granted that was about half an hour ago." Papa Rappa replied before being forced into an abrupt stop by his wife.

Both stared at each other, Papa Rappa could feel the burning gaze of his wife's annoyed demeanor burning a hole through his head. When he decided to try and break the silence he could see literal fumes coming from her head as she said. "You waited HALF AN HOUR to tell me where OUR OWN SON ran off to?"

He aloofly blinks at her anger as he replies "Yes?" to which she immediately adds on "Why?"

"Because my new project flat out spontaneously combusted on the spot! I had to fix or else it would be bugging me all day!" And upon uttering those words he could see he was about to get the earful of his life. At least he would if it weren't for a sudden voice calling out to the both of them.

"MAMA! PAPA!" A young puppy with an oversized orange beanie with a frog patch atop his head, a white shirt, blue shoes and green baggy pants said to the two as he ran towards them carrying a rather unique object in his hands. "Wook wat I fwound! A tedi bwear!" The parent's panic upon looking at said brown teddy bear dangling in his hands as he ran to them, realizing it was another child he was tugging about, sleeping as if nothing wrong was happening to him as evident by a bubble coming from his nose.

"Parappa! Leave the poor boy alone!" His mother shouted which prompted him to stop in his tracks "Wha-" he looks around to find the boy his mother alerted him to "Were is he?"

Mama Rappa rubs her forehead "Oh dear he doesn't realize what he's done. Hoo boy I hope the kids parents aren't freaking out about now…" She walks up to her child and plucks the bear from his hand gently "This is the other boy Parappa…" He immediately tries to grab him back "Mama! I fwound dat toy! Gimme it back!"

She stood up escaping his grabby paws "No sweetie this is another child! Excuse me dear, sorry to interrupt your sleep, but you need to wake up now." As she states this, the bubble on his nose pops and the small bear opens his eyes briefly "See sweetie? It's another boy like yourself!" As she points to the teddy bear, he immediately falls back to sleep.

"Wow that kids quite the sleeper if he managed to sleep through his abrupt kidnapping!" Papa Rappa states as he pokes the sleeping child "Parappa where did you take him from?"

Once asked the small puppy simply points "Dat way!" to which his parents simply stare at each other "But...that direction is just an empty grass patch. What was he doing there?"

"I dunno! By itself so I took it wif me! Now gimme him back!"

"Son he's not a toy! I mean yes he looks like one but he's another kid! One you unknowingly kidnapped! Wait...is it kidnapping if a kid is the culprit as well as the victim?" Papa Rappa just rubs his chin once he says this but is interrupted immediately by his wife "My son is not a kidnapper! Look Parappa we have to take him back, he is not a toy, and even if he was he doesn't belong to you!"

The small puppy just looks at them with sad eyes after hearing this "I'm sowwy…"

"It's alright sweetie, I know you didn't mean it, but you still need to be careful! Now lead us to where exactly you found him! We gotta get him back before his own parents start freaking out" Parappa follows his mother's orders instantaneously and rushes off with his parents on his tail until they reach the spot "Wight here!"

"Just as I thought, the place is completely void of people, so why would he be here?" Mama Rappa looks around briefly before turning towards her husband "You look that way for the boys parent's I'll search the other way!"

"Got it honey! And you Parappa, we'll be leaving you here with him, do not under any circumstances, run off with him again." The young pup nods at lightning speed "Good boy son! Now here, one of my latest invention that should keep you distracted enough to actually keep that promise! I call it the voice amplification device!"

"Honey that's a microphone." As she states this he retorts back with "Yeah I know but I wanted to take credit for SOMETHING that was sure to keep him still…you make it look so easy!" She just rolls her eyes at his response and with that they head off.

As they do, the young Parappa simply sits next to the sleeping bear until he decides to speak up "Hewwo? You awake? I'm sowwy for taking you by acciwent…" There is no response, only the inflating and deflating snot bubble. "Um...you ok?" He pokes the bear, but still no response aside from the bubble.

At at loss, the boy soon muttered something his mother told him "I gotta bewieve…" and then turned towards the teddy bear again "...Wanna be fwends?..." Silence was the poor boy's answer until he heard a tired reply "Sure…" Said the bear as he woke up rubbing his eyes.

"Weally?..." Parappa's tail started to wag gleefully "Yeah, my names PJ Berri, wats yours?" Parappa wasted no time in replying "Hi BeeWay! I'm Pawappa Wappa!"

PJ was about to comment on the mispronunciation of his name until he heard Parappa speak some more showing that Parappa couldn't properly speak fluently yet much like himself, although PJ's reason was that he couldn't be bother, as he'd rather sleep "Why were you sweeping here BeeWay?..."

"Because it's nice and comfy here, my mama and papa let me because I don't get in twouble by sleeping. Well, not until now wif you and your mama and papa"

"Sowwy bout that…" Parappa twiddles his thumbs until he asks "Wait, so youwr mama and papa awen't here?" PJ shakes his head "Nope" to which Parappa silently mutters "Wuh oh…" under his breath. And with that the boys are left in silence staring at the field until Parappa speaks again "Wanna pway wif my micwophone?" He says as he holds it out, but PJ shakes his head resulting in Parappa just tapping the microphone against his open hand awkwardly. PJ notices this and pulls out a donut from seemingly nowhere and hands it to Parappa "Wan it?" this time Parappa shook his head leaving him feeling awkward as well.

"How old are you Parappa?"

"Fouw, How bout you?"

"Five."

Parappa was shocked that the bear about his size, if not shorter, was older than him muttering out "Wow" after which silence came about again until they both said something in unison "Wanna talk bout music?" They both stare at each other astounded as the once silence filled field was now filled with giggly chatter between the two small boys, cementing the occasion as the start of their fun friendship for many years to come.

Parappa, age 6

It was a near dimly lit evening, Parappa was just hanging around the edge of the park along with PJ after experiencing a somewhat boring day that seem to be even dulling the two of them even now. "It's so boooooooooooooooooring…"

"Do what I do on occasions like this."

"Sleep?"

"Yeah." Parappa just stares at his friends who stares back and replies with "I'm serious"

"I know and that's what I find dumb about you, because you sleep for every occasion!"

"If it works for one thing it works for everything is what I usually say" Parappa immediately adds on "No you don't! You rarely speak at all because you're usually asleep!"

"Therefore my word is already true without having to say it." And with that, PJ is fast asleep while sitting up.

Parappa facepalms and just sighs before giving up and laying on his back attempting to follow his friends action, or rather lack thereof "What a dumb idea…" He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before giving up and opening his eyes again, only to be looking directly at someone who is staring right back at him. "Wha!..." Parappa fumbles forward accidentally bumping heads with the other kid "Ouch!.." the girl who he just headbutted fumbles onto her bottom.

"OW!..." The girl rubs her head "Why the heck did you headbutt me!"

"Why were you above me like that anyway!" upon saying that he stops rubbing his head to look at the girl better, she was a blue cat with blonde hair with a purple shirt with a candy cane picture on the front, yellow boots and green pants.

"Why were YOU just sleeping out here in the open?"

"There wasn't anything else to do!"

"So you do that instead of playing at the playground you two clearly are at? Who does that…" She scoffs at the idea of sleeping rather than playing with anything at all to which Parappa responds "Already played with everything...got bored so we went here and that's that I guess…" The girl rolls her eyes "Look you wanna do something fun why not walk around with me? I've been wanting to go to a spot deeper in the park at night with someone, but nobody is ever up for it cuz they're to scared or chicken to be out at night because of their parent's or whatever. So if you want some fun, come with me!"

Parappa scratches his head from under his beanie "I dunno...you said the truth, it is getting late and my mom will be asking where I am…" She scoffs again and turns her back towards him "Fine…" after this she turns back around and snatches his beanie and hops away out of his reach "HEY!"

"Don't you know you're 'sposed to escort a lady when she asks?~" She places the beanie on her head watching Parappa's blonde hair unfurl over his eyes prompting him to shout "GIVE ME MY HAT BACK!"

The girl simply sticks her tongue out whilst stating "You want it? Come get it~ Bye bye~" She runs deeper into the park to which Parappa gives chase, leaving PJ alone until his snot bubble pops and he looks around dazed "Huh?...Parappa? Where'd ya go?" He then stares into the direction where he and the girl had ran off and mumbles slightly before getting up and leaving the park. Meanwhile Parappa was hot on the girl's tail, literally as he was about to grab her tail in order to get her to halt "You're pretty fast to keep up with a six year old ya little kid!"

"Im six to!"

"Oh guess you're just tiny. How funny~" her taunting made him go faster "Bet I'm older than you!"

"Oh really? I was born December 22! How about you?"

"December 6!" After Parappa said this she remained silent for a bit until she huffed out "Only by 16 days big whoop…" She was to annoyed to realize she had slowed down just enough to allow Parappa to finally close the gap, he grabs her tail causing her to panic and flick it upwards with him still holding on causing him to crash into her "WHOA" they fumble into each other as they tumble down the path they used to be running on before they plop off each other once they hit the clearing into what seemed to be a large pond and the once dimly glowing sun was now the dark sky with only the moon shining about. The girl shoves Parappa off and immediately sits up "What's wrong with you?!" the cat shouts at Parappa.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with YOU!" They both stare at each other angrily, electricity sparking between them before they both utter a loud "HMPH" and turn away from each other. Leaving them in silence.

The two spent the time staring at the pond seeing as they both have no idea how exactly they got here since neither paid attention to the path leaving nothing but silence, until Parappa started to hear soft sniffles "Huh?" he looks towards the girl who was wiping her face on her sleeves, noticing her tears. She quickly notices him and looks away. "Are...you crying?"

"N-No!...I'm not!"

Dumbfounded by the obviously lie, he decides to ask something else "...Why did you wanna come here anyway?"

"..." The cat girl sighs, turns toward him and begins explaining "My mom once told me a story that there was a beautiful big pond once in the center of PaRappa Town...she said it was a spot everyone came to because it was that great a spot...they'd hold parties here, people would play together...everyone would just be having a good time...there were a lot of people...to many people, so many that the place just started getting. I don't even remember what my mom told me...anyway then the trees started growing in and and it soon became a big blockade from the pond...and nobody could even return here...to a point that they just couldn't find it in general! Whenever someone went in...they just left from a different part of the mini forest of trees." She glances over to the pond again "People believed it was just gone...the water dried up and the hole was filled up with more trees...but I didn't...I wanted to see it for myself because i believed it was still here…"

"But then why force me along?" She didn't wanna answer that, but eventually after abit more tears she huffed up "I was scared...to go by myself...what if...I got lost in here? It had happened before, but they were adults so they could manage something...but I'm just a kid...what would I do? How would people easily find me? I'd end up getting lost...and in the process i'd probably get other people lost as they tried to find me. So I wanted a buddy to at least have my back and help keep a keen eye in finding a way around...two heads are better than one and all that...but...nobody wanted to go...and not because they were only scared as well, but because...they didn't want be around me in general...it made me sad...upset-"

"Lonely?" Parappa's add on just made her wipe away new tears "I was...never good at making friends so...it hurt...like I said, many people used to have fun together here...I thought I'd finally be able to make a few friends...I wanted to try something that had a better chance than all my old attempts...and even that failed, and it really really hurt...I don't like showing it though, but…"

"I was the last straw?"

"Yeah...I'm sorry...you seemed nice and I thought, if you could befriend and even listen to that bear's dumb idea...maybe you could with me to." She takes off the beanie "I guess I pushed the wrong buttons though...as I usually do...I'm sorry." She hands the beanie back to him, which he takes back slowly as to not be rude by just yanking it instead. They stay quiet again until she speaks up again. "But this was all for nothing...this ain't no beautiful big pond...it's just a sad empty, and lonely thing." She closes her eyes "Just like me.." Hearing her self demoralizing words made Parappa feel guilty for not even giving her a chance, but he was right that his mother would be wondering where he was, and even being upset if he were to be late or not show up at all. "Um…" He was at a complete and utter loss. What should he do at a moment like this? What COULD he do at a moment like this? He stared at the pond then back at her. "I mean...you did take my hat and were a bit rough, but-" He gets up and walks towards her and holds a paw out "I wouldn't mind being friends with you at all!" If her eyes weren't waterfalls already they certainly were now!

"You...You mean that?"

"Of course! You don't seem like a bad person, just a lonely one! I remember that feeling all to well about two years ago before I met PJ! And I almost forgot how bad it felt, I wouldn't wish that feeling on anyone! Not if I can help it!" Rather than accept his paw of friendship, she grabs his hand and brings him in for a rather tight hug, catching him off guard. "Wah! I-I take it you accept my friendship? H-Heh." She just nods, refusing to let go.

"U-Uh...I'm Parappa Rappa by the way!"

"I'm..k-katy.." she said this in such a low tone through her sniffles, that not even Parappa with his big ears could hear it or make the words out.

"K-Kitty?"

"N-No Katy...Katy Kat."

"Oooooh! That's a nice name for a great new friend!" As the hug carries on, his gaze drifts up to the sky and immediately prompts Katy to break the hug "Look! Up in the sky" She looks up through the small openings between the trees to the night sky and spots so many stars, and thanks to how the openings where organized made the patterns look all the more beautiful, and soon her eyes wandered back towards the pond causing her to call for Parappa "Better yet! Look here!"

The reflection of the stars in the rippling water among it's organized patterns looked beautiful causing the whole clearing to beam and glow with the shiny white light leaving the two kids starstrucked.

"It's just…like how my mom told me…" However a small problem came about, she soon began to notice trash and junk everywhere thanks to the white glow illuminating everything. "People left this place covered in trash…"

"Maybe we can clean it up?"

"It'd take days though Parappa…it's just us two kids. That's a tall order."

"I don't mind! I wanna see this place at its full beauty! If it looks this amazing like this, just imagine when fully cleaned up!" She was caught off guard by his enthusiasm, but with this said, they both nod to each other in agreement.

Their happy moment is soon cut short when what sounds like a fire truck siren starts blaring nearby. "Huh? Why are the firemen here?...There's no fire…" once Katy says this a distressed woman's voice can be heard, paralyzing Parappa in place.

"Parappa? What's wrong?"

"It's my mom...she...does not sound happy…"

"Uh oh...glad I can't hear her then…"

"Yeah lucky me and my good hearing...come on we gotta go! Before she and anyone else gets lost in here!" With that said they both book it through the clearing, her voice getting louder allowing them to use that as a pathfinder. And within a few moments, they were back at the park and soon face to face with not just Parappa's mom, dad and PJ, but also the police, the fire department, as well as Katy's own parent's causing her to quietly whimper out "Oh no…"

Everyone rushes towards the two kids and asks them where they were and what they were doing, but before any of them can get a reply of the kids, Mama Rappa immediately calls Katy out "You!...You're the one that got Parappa lost in there weren't you!" As she said this, rather than being helped out by her own parents, they instead follow Mama Rappa's course of action knowing their own daughters track record.

Being put on the spot certainly did not help the cat's current stress level. Until Parappa spoke up and shouted "NO!..." everyone turned their head to the small puppy causing him to gulp silently.

"This…This is all my fault...I was bored and...decided to go see what was beyond those trees, and she tried to stop me, but I wouldn't listen and got her dragged into my mess...and then I guess we lost track of time...and well...yeah…" Parappa look down guiltily, he never told a lie before, he was raised to well, yet here he felt he had to in order to defend his new friend. After seeing her pour her emotions out he could obviously tell she wasn't happy and that all this wasn't gonna help that! So he did what he had to. He believed in himself, so that he could make up a lie believable enough to get the heat off her back. And it almost failed to do so were it not for PJ walking up "It's true, he was complaining about how bored he was that he just had to do SOMETHING, so I offered sleeping." He shook his head "Guess that didn't really sit well with him." That allowed everyone to buy Parappa's bluff.

"Ugh...Parappa...I'm so disappointed in you...it's not like you to mix up others in your tomfoolery." She recalls the incident with PJ two years ago. "Actually scratch that...Look I have to go apologize to this young lady's family as well as explain to the police and my squad that my son wasn't permanently lost in that overgrown mess of trees…" She then turns to katy "I deeply apologize for accusing you as well as apologize for what my son nearly got you into."

"I-It's...ok." Katy could feel the guilt in her trying to burst through her chest as she saw Mama Rappa and her own mother and father walk away leaving the three children alone. Both her and Parappa look at PJ who simply looks at Parappa "You owe me a box of donuts for keeping that bluff Parappa."

"You got it and thanks so much for helping me help her!" after this PJ turns towards Katy "Next time you consider doing something hectic with my pal, consider sleeping and eating instead." He pulls out a box of donuts and hands it to her "That never gets anyone in trouble, at least from my experience."

"I'm PJ by the way" He holds out his paw, but katy hesitantly grabs it from past fear "I-I'm Katy...Nice to meet you…"

"Likewise, I just wish the moment could've been better." And with that he walks off to his own home.

After what felt like an eternity of silence with in two minutes, Katy speaks up again "...Parappa...I-I..."

"It's alright, alright? I don't mind being in trouble, if at least you'll be ok."

"R-Right…" She looks down, then back to him "I-I'm...gonna call it a night...see you next time Parappa…" She walks off to her parent's and gives a slight look over her shoulder only to see Parappa waving, with a smile that was basically beaming the words "It's ok" she then looked back forward and sighed.

The following day came in the blink of an eye with Parappa back with PJ back at the edge of the park, this time in the bright morning..

"That's four whole boxes of donuts...how does your belly not hate you?"

"Four? Four's nothing to me." as he says this his stomach rumbles again leaving Parappa with his jaw dropped.

Just before they could do anything else, Parappa heard someone approaching them and turned around "Hello? Oh hi Katy! Glad to see you again tod-" Parappa's greeting is cut short by Katy grabbing both PJ and Parappa by the hand and dragging them near the mini forest entrance. "Whoa ya wanna go back to the pond now?" She simply nodded "Last nights little moment let me get a good look at where we need to go to get there fast and get out fast so no more late or getting lost problems!" This relieved both Parappa and PJ who now walked alongside her without needing to be dragged. "And voila!" Katy kept her word, within mere moments they were there.

"So this is where you two went off to. Gotta say it's a real dump here."

"We know PJ, that's why me and Katy wanna clean it up! And you're gonna help us!" upon hearing this PJ's face turned blue as if he were ill.

"...Katy help me grab him." Before they could get a hold on him, PJ bolted out of their current area in the blink of an eye leaving a dust cloud in the shape of his body. "How can he eat so much and still run so fast?..."

"You know him more than me. Well this is ok to...I wanted to talk to you privately anyway."

"Oh?" Parappa tilts his head upon hearing that "Why?"

"I...came clean to my parents and yours…"

"W-What b-but-"

"I know...but...I couldn't keep that lie...you're to nice a friend Parappa…"

"I-I guess...but what about you now?..." She placed her hands together and deeply inhaled as if she was about to say a mouthful "Well my parents were shocked that I came clean over the whole thing since before I kinda...didn't do that so they left me off easy surprisingly, they said you're a good influence on me that I should be around you more. Heh. However...once I got to explaining things to you family-"

"Was there lots of yelling?"

"...um...actually no...rather...we sat down and your mom explained...and well." She taps her fingers together "Well to cut a super long story short she said that while she's glad you made another pal, she could only hope I didn't encourage him to lie like that, but then she sat back and thought for a bit and when she wanted to speak again, she looked like she had a hard time finding the words. That's when your dad took over. He said he was happy and proud that despite the rather sour outcome, was overall delighted that we could be fast friends. That I could teach you how to both deal with and handle situations like mine in the future and that you could help and teach back with other stuff. That even while it was a bad thing to lie, you did so in order to help someone in a frail emotional state! And then he went on for a bit more with words I couldn't understand. But once he was done your mom just looked at him with her mouth wide open. Then after about a minute or two she snapped out of it and said, yeah basically what he said."

"Wow...It's not like Papa to usually be the voice of reason…"

"Maybe that's what shocked your mom so much!"

"Well I guess things worked out for you!"

"Yeah!"

"And hey if what they say is true, maybe I'll rub off on you and you'll get many more friends! After all a little kindness never hurt nobody!" He said with a beaming smile that was literally to bright to look at.

"So...still friends?" She said rather shyly.

"Of course! Why would I ever take that back?"

"T-Thanks~..."

"And I'd be your friend a hundred times over if I could!"

"R-Really?"

"Yeah! It'd be more but I can't count past 400...I always get mixed up and have to start over." She giggles as he starts counting on his fingers "Thanks so much Parappa~..." She hugs him tightly for a bit before announcing "Well this place won't clean up itself!"

She pulls out a couple of trash bags and hands some to Parappa and they both begin their many day task, but are almost instantly interrupted " Hey Parappa?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna look at the stars at night here again?" As she said this Parappa began panicking, but was quickly calmed down "I told our parents already where we'd be so no worries this time!" They both share a laugh before carrying on until night time.

"We did pretty good for the first day!"

"Yeah! This isn't so bad!"

"You say that now, but things will start piling up sooner or later!"

"Then we work harder! No cutting corners!"

"No cutting corners?" Katy tilts her head as Parappa says this to which he adds on "My dad started saying that once my baby sister was born. Mama was really worried about how they could handle both me and her! Neither of their jobs got a lot of money, so he motivated her and himself by saying that, it means that working hard can be rough, but sometimes the struggles teach ya valuable things. If you struggle now, you won't struggle later and may even handle it quickly in case the problem happens again! Hard work will always pay off!" He stands triumphantly. "That's been his catchphrase ever since, and along with Mom's 'you gotta believe' it's always been non stop support between the two of them! Even when it doesn't look like it. And I follow both of them! Mostly to keep on believing though…" He says with a nervous giggle as he scratches his head.

"Wow…" She just stares blankly at the pond, leaving Parappa at a loss for words due to the awkward air until he plucks off his beanie and places it atop her head "W-Wha! Hey!..."

"I think it looks good on you!" He smiles and wags his tail once again "R-Really? Are you sure?..."

"I am sure! I also have another one, so no worries there!...But please don't take that one to!" they both giggle as that's said until Katy places a hand on her head.

"No cutting corners…" she lays on her back and stares at the stars "Hard work will always pay off…"

"You ok there Katy?" Parappa lays down beside her staring at the sky as well.

"Yeah...Hey Parappa? Think we'll be friends forever?"

"I believe so!"

"Promise?"

"Promise!"

"Same here." says PJ alarming the two at his sudden reappearance before they all burst out laughing until Katy quietly turns away from the two and goes back to gazing at the stars as she silently whispers.

"Friends forever~"


	2. Memories of Happier days Part 2

Parappa, age 10

It was another unusually quiet afternoon until the school bell rang releasing a horde of students wanting to go home for the day. Or do whatever it is they chose to do once free, such as our trio of friends, Parappa who upgraded his look to a light blue shirt, dark blue pants and red shoes with some white lines along the sides, but also keeping his orange beanie as it was. And Katy had changed her attire as well to a sleeveless shirt as well as pants that both sported red and white vertical stripes! And red and blue shoes. They decided to walk off to a mini restaurant that has started becoming a typical hangout for them.

"I still cannot believe you actually ate all the offered food at that other place to earn it for free PJ." Katy says after being informed about the events the bear had undergone the day before.

"Yep. I was congratulated, given a trophy, a barebones prize and was immediately banned from the premises to prevent having to do that again."

"That explains why there's a picture of your face in front of the place saying 'don't allow this person here." Guess they thought nobody could ever do it and would always have to pay for it all" Parappa states as he shakes his head in disbelief.

"Until they met our friend here." Katy says as they both stop to stare at PJ who stands proudly with his arms extending out diagonally towards the sky.

The trio soon sit at their usual seats in the restaurant once they arrived and ordered. Not long after they also releasing a large groan of disinterest in unison. "School was the absolute worst today…"

"I know right? I feel like my brain overloaded over all the homework, BEFORE even doing the homework…" Katy slams her face into the table after saying this.

"It doesn't help that our teacher could be as lacking in interest in the class as much as we are. I mean. I thought I usually gave off the appearance of being disinterested in things, but that guy flat out doesn't wanna be here." PJ yawns as if on cue by his own words leaving Parappa to take over. "I mean to be fair it doesn't help that everyone but us rarely does anything. He doesn't see any interest so why should he be interested? Still not a valid excuse to pile on the work to us just because we actually take initiative…" PJ falls onto the table asleep once Parappa states the final word "Well at least me and Katy show initiative…"

He and Katy sigh as they wait for their ordered food to arrive so that they have something to bury their aggravation into. It was a slow day at the restaurant again, leaving the trio as almost the only patrons, were it not for the employees and older regulars that prefered sitting at the far corners of the establishment. There was nothing but silence while waiting.

Katy wanted to break the silence, and in doing so brought up a topic she almost kicked herself for bringing back up "So Parappa, anything new happen with you?..."

"Nah...my homes been real...well...slow for lack of a better word?"

"I mean...you have a reason for it ever since...well...you know…"

"...Y-Yeah…" Parappa pulls off his beanie and looks at it before sighing "She didn't deserve that fate, but...no one could stop her. It was in her blood to help. And if it weren't for her, she wouldn't have been the only one losing their life that day…" He clutches the beanie tightly as he whimpers "I just...you know...wish nobody had to lose anything at all…" he couldn't fight back tears any longer prompting Katy to pull him into a hug "N-Nonono please don't cry...n-not again…y-you're gonna get me crying…" She was to busy trying to help the pup to note she had already begun crying herself "P-Parappa please...please don't cry...please…"

It had been exactly 3 months since the catastrophic fire that had taken Mama Rappa's life away. Some time had passed, but the wound of loss was still fresh in the Rappa family hearts as if it had still just happened. A once tall and proud building that was the pride and joy of PaRappa town caught ablaze one fateful day with no understandable reason. And many people were trapped in that fire, Katy herself included when the building was offering a grand tour of the establishment. After the fire fighters deemed there was nothing more they could do thanks to how strong the fire had grown to in a short span of time, Mama Rappa refused to sit ideally by. She was the head of the department, and hearing the rest of them give up ignited something in her as she stormed in against the blockade that was holding everyone else back and ran into the burning tower of a building.

"SIR! THE BUILDING ISN'T STABLE! IT'S A DEATHWISH!" Mama Rappa kept running "SIR! MRS. RAPPA! DAMMIT…"

"What do we do?!"

"The hell can we do?!" the second in command, a short dalmation, threw his hat on the ground as he said this before turning back to the other firemen "I want everyone to spray as much water at the place as possible!"

"But-" the firemen said in unison as they were cut off.

"BUT NOTHING, WE CAN'T STOP IT BUT WE SURE AS HELL CAN SLOW IT DOWN ENOUGH TO LET HER GET THE PEOPLE OUT."

Nothing else was said as they immediately followed orders.

Mama Rappa ran to every source of the word help she could, and thanks to her amazing hearing, that was all sources. "COME ON COME ON, THIS WAY. HURRY BEFORE THE EXITS START COLLAPSING IN ON THEMSELVES!" She escorted every man, woman and child that she found, her progress was stunted however when she started coming across injured people in which she had to carry out, pressing harshly on the timer of the buildings stability, until she was sure that everyone was out.

"SIR! COME ON LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE, THE PLACE IS GONNA FALL."

As she was about to do so, she heard one more cry for help. The voice this cry belonged to was one she had grown to know in the past four years. "K-Katy?..." She wasted no time and ran back in.

"SIR! NO THE BUILDING WON'T HOLD!"

Mama Rappa couldn't hear him, she couldn't hear anything. She blocked out all sounds except the last person still trapped in the building.

"KATY! KATY WHERE ARE YOU?!" she panicked when she ceased hearing the cries. "KATY!"

Katy was crying to herself in a small corner void of flames, although that achievement wasn't really holding out as the fire was causing the building to break in on itself, resulting in her corner being blockaded away from the exit, which was also sealed off by a pile of smoking rubble. She didn't wanna believe she was done for, so she cried out for help. She kept crying out, but no one came. The smoke was starting to get to her as she started coughing, to a point she couldn't cry out the word help anymore. No one was coming to save her and the thought alone caused her to bawl her last moments away. Until she heard someone shouting her name. "KATY WHERE ARE YOU?!" the voice was familiar. "M-Mrs. Rappa?..." she soon heard another yell "KATY!" cementing her assumption. It was Parappa's mother, and she was trying to help her, but Katy couldn't muster out a word. She tried and tried until she heard one more yell "PLEASE WHERE ARE YOU" this specific yell was close, real close. This got Katy to finally belt out "MRS. RAPPA! HELP PLEASE!..."

There was silence, Katy couldn't do anything anymore except wonder if she heard her. The silence was forcefully broken by Mama Rappa bursting open the blockaded door while also knocking away the rubble preventing Katy from moving. "I found you!" Katy had no reply, she could only cough and cry with her eyes shut. She was paralyzed by the smoke and fear "I gotta get you out here…" She managed to get to her with near little interruption from the fire, and immediately took of her own gask mask and placed it on her. Now getting back out was her final obstacle.

"Come on...there's gotta be a clear path to the exit that hasn't collapsed in on itself…" She looked and looked while holding Katy in her arms like a cradled baby. "I gotta believe, I gotta believe…" But there were no clear paths, so she decided to take one that was stable enough to use. "This one! " The path she found was almost a perfect path, except the part of the floor that was separating where Mama Rappa stood and the way down to the exit was split by a large hole leading to a burning abyss..

"I gotta believe…" with that said she took a running start backwards then performed a huge leap of faith towards the other side, and managed to land the jump. "Perfect!..." She headed down the stairs that started to fall apart behind her. "Nononononono...not yet...I'm so close…" she out runs the avalanche of destruction only to see her luck run out, the way to the exit was slowly collapsing. "I can make it!..." She ran towards the exit that started closing itself off more and more, to a point where even she knew she wouldn't make it. "No...nono... " She looked at the girl crying in her arms "But she can…" she took off her big fire jacket and wrapped it around her before shouting "HEY PUDDLE!"

Chief Puddle was caught dumbfounded that his boss was still alive, and ran near the the entrance to see if he could do anything to assist her escape, only to end up catching Katy, who was thrown to him through the closing entrance by Mama Rappa. "SIIIIIIIIIR!" She only smiled at him with a single tear escaping her eye along her face "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" the building finally gave way and fell atop itself. Prompting Puddle to book it.

The now promoted against his will dalmation turns to look at the still collapsing heap, what was once a proud site for PaRappa town, was now nothing more than a ashen grave to one of said towns bravest."...No…"

"Chief Puddle?..." the other firemen lined around him.

"...Get this girl to some help...she inhaled to much of the smoke…"

"R-Right!" Another female firefighter picked up Katy and ran to the nearest medics.

"Status report."

"Everyone who was accounted for in the building is out...minus her sir." Puddle looked towards where the ambulances were before the other firefighter spoke up again "She saved everyone…"

"Yes...she did didn't she?"

While Katy was being carried off, she weakly managed to open her eyes and look towards where the building used to be, quickly squeaking out. "I'm sorry...i'm sorry…i'm so so sorry…"

Parappa stopped crying when started feeling more water on his face than he was crying out, quickly after hearing Katy cry the same phrase out over and over "I'm sorry…i'm so so sorry...it should've been me...it should've been…i'm so sorry…"

Parappa recalls the day Chief Puddle and Katy, who was wrapped in his moms uniform, appeared in front of his house to tell his family the news. It hurt and he cried to nearly no end, but even still, she cried more than him and his family combined. She felt the pain more because of guilt, the guilt that it was most likely thanks to her that she couldn't have made it out alright. She just cried the same to words over and over. "I'm so sorry…" And "It should've been me…"

All this prompted her staying with the Rappa family for about a month by request of her parents and Papa Rappa. It was until she was fully ok from the shock of the events that took place, but now it seemed she still needed the help.

"Don't say that…" Katy stopped. "My mom didn't save you only to have you like this you know?"

"I know but-"

"But nothing, you told me, you could hear it in her voice that she was dead set on finding you, and by that logic, equally so on getting you out. Could there have been another way? Maybe...I know I wouldn't want it either way…" Katy immediately speaks up "E-Either way? But shouldn't your mom matter more?!"

"Don't get me wrong, I wanted my mom to come out alive...but not at the cost of losing a good friend in the progress…" Parappa places the beanie back on his head "In some ways, these past four years feel like you're more like Katy Rappa than Katy Kat...heh...our parents became just as fast of friends as us. And mom really grew to liking ya, probably because of how well you got along with me like PJ had...heh...and when the news came to us...you cried as if it was your own mom you lost you know?" Parappa pulled out a handkerchief and began wiping his and her tears away. "My mom was always overprotective, that's why she became a firefighter, to protect the town...treating everyone of its citizens as her own kids, but no one garnered that protection more than five special people in her heart. Me, Pinto, Dad, PJ." he finishes off wiping her tears away "And you! I guess it took me a bit to realize that myself...but can you blame me? Sadness of loss kinda got to me...eheh…"

"You have every right to be sad though…"

"I did. But mom wouldn't have wanted that. I think that's what dad realized before me, but he's still quiet...I guess because of me and Pinto. But I think he should've just handled it head on."

"Ok…" She looked down at the table before uttering more words out "Hey...I think I might need another long sleepover at your place again..."

"Not my place discuss since i'm not an adult, but you know my answer is sure! Take as long as you need! Not just a month! I'll just have to spread the word to my dad, but that should be quick and simple!"

"Thanks…~"

"Of course! And hey with you around again, maybe it'll be easier helping Pinto move on as well! You help her ease into things as much as my mom did!"

"Of course!...I'd be glad to."

"Alrighty now here's order number 18 for table….four!"

PJ wakes back up after hearing that, alerting the waiter "Over here!" he then looks towards the other two once the food is left at their table "What happened to you two? Someone cut onions while I was asleep?" Both just sigh and roll their eyes playfully at PJ "Hey PJ, how about a sleepover at my house tonight?"

"This is outta the blue, normally you're not one to ask as your dad is afraid i'd leave the fridge empty."

"Luckily I can vouch that you'd bring your own food, and be mostly asleep to even trudge to our fridge!"

"When would I ever be to deep asleep to do that." Both him and Katy eye him "Actually, yes I would be too sleepy to do that." He looks at his food "Sheesh what happened while I was asleep." and begins chowing down.

Parappa age 14

It was another boring slow day at the high school, much to the dismay of the students, until…

"And that concludes our lecture on blah and blah, turn to the next chapter when we can discuss whatever's there-" the teacher is cut off by a knock at his door "Oh is it finally my resignation request being announced?!" He opens the door immediately and is caught talking with the person on the other side.

"Man I still can't believe our luck...getting him as our HIGH SCHOOL teach as well…" Parappa just groans as he throws his head back over his chair.

"And he's even less intent on being here then back in grade school, you'd think he'd liven up a bit after leaving what was the apparent source of his dilemma!" Katy stretches out in her chair before continuing "Honestly it'd be great if he did resign, but I don't like the thought him just getting off so easily for it! He made us suffer why shouldn't he…"

"I'd agree but i'm usually asleep to even care about him."

"We'd join you, but me and Parappa even try and close our eyes for a second and he calls us out for it…"

The three of them just sigh, and immediately after the teacher returns back into the class sighing as well before announcing to the class "Alright everyone, starting today we have a new student. I'd like to introduce you all to Miss Sunny Funny." The girl being introduced a small shy girl with a yellow daisy flower for a face, with big pink petals and small pointy red petals. She had green shoes and wore a big dress with horizontal red and blue stripes.

Everyone started saying their own hello's to Sunny and slowly it reached the main trio "Sup. I'm PJ." PJ stated as he waved. "Hiiiiii!~ Names Katy and hello to you!~" Katy nearly shouted from glee at having a new face to freshen up the class. Once it got to Parappa however "H-H...W-Wazz...Y-Yo-..." He struggled to say even one form of hello to the new girl as his face started heating up.

"Parappa you're embarrassing her!..." Katy whispered to the stuttering dog who only stuttered more.

"I think you should take a better look at Parappa himself." PJ whispered to Katy "Huh?..." Upon closer inspection she could see fumes leaving his head due to how overheated he was, his face could be mistaken for a tomato! The gears in Katy's head started turning as immediately after she struggled to hold back a large squeal of glee.

"This is Parappa, and he says Yo! He'd say it himself, but he's just really exhausted and overheated. I blame the beanie for the latter but hey what can you do am I right?" The girl starts giggling, earning a goofy smile from Parappa's face.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you!"

The teacher then asks Sunny to tell the class more about herself to which she hesitantly obliged to. "O-Ok...um…"

As she began, Parappa dreamily listened to every word she had to say while Katy and PJ whispered amongst themselves.

"Are you SEEING this?!~"

"It'd be hard not to."

"This is the cutest thing ever!"

"The adorable daisy or the dog fawning over her?"

"Well both, but mostly Parappa!" Before PJ could add on, the lunch bell rung prompting everyone, including the teacher to book it. Leaving the four by themselves. Parappa immediately tried to speak up "I-I k-ken s-sow were l-lunch. I-izzz..." None of it was understood by the flower. "He means to say he'll be happy to show you the lunchroom! We'll join you shortly! Me and PJ gotta do something first!" Sunny nodded and looked towards Parappa "I accept your kind offer! Thank you Parappa~"

"N-No p-p-problem!" and with that, they're both off leaving Katy and PJ alone.

PJ spoke up beating Katy to the punch "You sure it's ok helping him?"

"Of course it is! Cuz look at what that whole scene was! I mean-"

"I was referring to you. Don't you also have a crush on Parappa?"

"I-I…have no idea what you're talking about."

"I may be asleep almost always, but that doesn't mean i'm not perceptive of what's around me."

"I-Is it that obvious?"

"Now it is."

"WHAT!" She fell for his word play. "So you didn't know?"

"I mean I felt something from you towards him, but wasn't sure if it was just my imagination. So I decided to ask now. Gotta say that was easy." Katy could only muster a low growl as her face grew pink.

"But now that i'm clearly certain. Again I ask. You sure it's ok helping him?"

"Of course! I mean, yes...I do admit having feelings for him, but I...don't really see myself having much of a chance-" PJ cuts her off

"Not when you hand over your crush to the nearest girl he goes gaga for-" Katy cuts him off

"NOT WHAT I MEAN...It's just...I feel Parappa doesn't see me in that light...I think he sees me as more of a sister…"

"Now that you mention it...you do have a point. But can you blame him? With how you two grew up starting 8 years ago? I don't think even I could see you as anything other than siblings…"

"See what I mean…"

"Bah, he's just dense."

"True, but...the fact still remains."

"He's in love with the new girl." They both say in unison.

"So I wanna help him out...feeling the unrequited love isn't fun. So if I can help a friend of mine who's in love! So be it! That's what i'll do."

"I have a bad feeling those very words are gonna bite you in the butt eventually…" PJ gets up "Come on let's get to the lunch room."

Parappa age 15

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAH, I'M GONNA BE LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE" Parappa was running as fast as his legs could take him "First my bike goes missing, and now im about to miss my promise with Katy and Sunny to go shopping!" As he's running he's stopped after hearing his name "Parappa."

"Huh? Oh PJ! What's up?"

"About time you arrived to play basketball."

"Come again."

"You promised." He stares at Parappa with what could be qualified as serious for his standards "Remember?"

After abit of blank staring Parappa mutters "I remember….AHHHHHHHHH!"

"Yo PJ what's with the yelling?" says a male dog wearing a red shirt with white stripes by the neck and end of the sleeves, purple pants and blue and black shoes.

"AAHHHH- who's that?"

"This is my buddy Matt, I met him a while back at Club fun once we discussed our mutual fondness of basketball."

"Nice to meet ya, I'm Matt Major!" he holds out his hand to which Parappa shakes after abit of thought processing.

"Parappa Rappa…PJ how long have you known him?"

"About two or three years?"

"And you didn't bother introducing him sooner? A new friend is always great man!"

"You never asked."

"I-...whatever. Um...I uh...actually...have to do something el-"

"Parappa! There you are!" Katy calls out to him causing Parappa to squeak out a silent "oh no…"

"Parappa we've been looking for you! Aren't you ready to go to the garage sale?" Sunny stated.

"Parappa can't go to the garage sale with you girls, because Parappa promised to play basketball with me."

"It this true Parappa?" Parappa could hear the disappointment in Katy's voice.

"I-I-I-I-I-I"

"And our promise?" Sunny says staring at him with an expression that would annihilate his heart if he kept looking.

"And OUR promise Parappa?" PJ adds on.

"Parappa!"

"Parappa."

"Parappa…"

"Urk…" Parappa was on the cusp of fainting.

"Garage Sale!"

"Basketball." Both PJ and Katy kept repeating the same thing to Parappa.

"Which promise do I keep!..." He was about to fall over then and there, were it not for a hand grabbing him, preventing his little meltdown from finishing as the hand's owner speaks up.

"You keep the basketball one."

"Huh?" everyone turns towards the voice only to see a fox girl with purple hair wearing a white jacket with a red P on one of the flaps at the bottom. A green skirt and an orange undershirt and and orange pants under the skirt finished off with blue shoes. "After all the game of basketball already began, but I don't see these two at their garage sale. Soooo in all real fairness, he should stay and play ball."

"Who the heck are you?..." Katy states towards the new girl.

"I should be asking you that! By the by, that's some get up you got there. Certainly eye catching, but probably not for the reason you're aiming for."

"W-What...well what's up with your outfit!"

"The P stands for Paula! Paula Fox, otherwise known as Initial P!

The trio of boys simply say hello, as Sunny tilts her head, all four of them however, are quickly alerted to Katy who has noticeably grown quite peeved and would've gotten worse if it weren't for Sunny scooping her up and running off "Come on we gotta get to the garage sale!"

"H-Hey put me down Sunny!"

"There they go." PJ announces as Parappa sighs from guilt.

"Well then like I said, the game is on! Come on let's play!"

"W-Whoa hey!" Matt fumbles as the ball is snatched from his hands.

"Don't feel bad Parappa, i'm sure this will all blow over and we might even look back on today and laugh."

"Yeah…"

Parappa looks up towards the sky in awe of today's current events.

And time passes by in the blink of an eye.

"It's hard to believe that's how our first day meeting you two went." Parappa states while at a table with his other friends.

"Especially with how Paula and Katy got off on the wrong foot." PJ says lazily.

"Well it did blow over. And I can't think of better friends now!" Matt adds on.

"I still feel the rivalry in the air from time to time though." As parappa states this he gets conked on the head by the two girls. "OW...I'm sorry!..."

Everyone at the table laughs.

"Our circle of friends keeps growing...I wonder who else we'll befriend…" Both Parappa and Katy say this in unison, however unaware of that fact as they both whispered it to not be heard by the rest.

Katy, age 15

"Harumph...get something to help ease your mind off your crush with Parappa...it'll start affecting you in the looooong run… that PJ...what does he know…" Katy strums her bass guitar in the shape of her head. "Gah...still no good…"

Katy was alone in the music room, the students were allowed to use it as long as they cleaned up after themselves, the school didn't bother with theft as none of their instruments were worth stealing...or using for that matter. So students usually brought their own instruments.

"No matter how many times I tune it...it still doesn't sound right...or maybe i'm just not playing it right?..." suddenly the door opens "Oh! Hey Katy!" Parappa announces happily.

"Oh hey, what brings you here?"

"Just wanted go try my hand at rapping again, ever since the whole concert caused by the birds in my hat. I think I have a real knack for it ya know?" He wasn't wrong, he had some good pipes for singing no matter the type of singing, at least she thought so. He sang only when he was at home because of self conscious thoughts and from what she heard it was really great! "So I brought Boxy Boy to lay down some tunes and my microphone to...well you know the rest!"

"Oh! Lemme get out of your way then."

"No need, i'll just use one of the side rooms, they're soundproofed from the inside so I won't annoy anyone incase i'm just fooling myself over this whole rap thing. Course I can still hear from the otherside."

"You kidding? Your voice is great, if anything you should worry that someone doesn't sneak in to listen to you better!"

"You mean that?"

"Of course! I know I would if I heard you!"

"Haha thanks Katy. Well if you need me, don't be a stranger!" He walks into one of the side rooms and closes the door.

"Ok now back to my bass-" she is stopped by hearing the sound of a door opening again "Oh did something come up Para-" She stares at a female orange sheep with red hair and two little horns sticking out, a red shirt with a weird flower like white icon on it along with dark blue pants and light blue shoes "ppa?"

"O-Oh! I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't know the r-room was o-occupied...I-I'll l-leave-"

"Nononono! It's all good! We can share this room! Or you can use one of the side rooms if ya like! I don't mind at all!"

"A-Are you sure? I-I don't w-wanna be a bother to a-anyone…" Katy could feel the insecurities seeping from the lamb and it was rather upsetting that she didn't have more confidence in herself. "Yessssssssss!" She grabs her and pulls her into the room. "It's all good-...uh…"

"L-Lammy…" is all the girl squeaks up.

"Well hello Lammy! My name's Katy! It's great to meet you!" She notices the guitar on her back and gasps "You play guitar?!~"

"U-Um….I guess you can call it that…"

"That's great! How long have you been playing?"

"W-Well...not really...publically or a-anything like that...usually just at home. I-I don't think anyone would like t-to hear my playing… B-But yeah...been playing f-for as long as I can remember…had to s-stop though b-because neighbors kept g-giving a noise c-complaint...and well t-that's why i'm here..."

Katy mutters something under her breath as to not be heard "Wow it's like a female version of Parappa when it comes to music…" she then adds on "I'm sure you play amazingly Lammy! You shouldn't really worry over that!"

"I-I don't know...t-that's kinda hard for m-me…"

"Hm...how about playing abit with me!"

"O-Oh um...A-Are you sure that's a g-good idea?..."

"Of course!...oh but wait I still need to figure up what's up with my bass…"

"Oh?...mind if I h-help?"

"Sure!" She hands her bass over to Lammy who then starts to tune it and test it at the same time trying to get a good feel, until she finally strums it and gets the results she was looking for "T-There we go…!"

"Wow...I would've never found out what it was I needed to fix up. Thanks!"

"Oh i-it's no biggie...here y-you go!.." The shy lamb hands Katy her bass back, to which she takes back and begins strumming it "Hm...how come it's not sounding like how you played it just now?"

"O-Oh um...a-are you...holding i-in some...rather b-big emotions? T-That can affect how one p-plays an instrument!..." Lammy clutches her guitar rather tightly as she says this.

"How so?"

"Well there's an old saying that music is a way to vent out emotions, and holding them in instead can detriment the music you're trying to create."

"Huh…" Her gaze, drifts over to Parappa's room "How about that…" she strums her bass for abit then turns back to Lammy "Hey Lammy, wanna start no-" She's interrupted as the door slams open causing the two of them to jump in fear. They both turn to the source, but only see a stack of drum parts.

"H-Hello?" Lammy meekly speaks up only to get a reply that she couldn't understand "I-I'm sorry w-what?"

The stack of parts drop to the floor ("I SAID I'M RIGHT HERE!") shouts a small mouse wearing a cocktail dress from behind the mess.

"E-Eep..!" Lammy rushes behind Katy who simply says "Hey wait...I know that language! The nice Sir at the pharmacy speaks it!"

("OF COURSE HE SPEAKS IT, THAT'S MY FATHER!") the stick of dynamite lodged in the female mouse's head ignites. "Riiiight! I should've put two and two together! It makes sense since you speak like him and look like him!"

("WELL DUH I'M HIS- wait are you actually understanding me?...") the dynamite stops sparking as her mouth is left wide open.

("Of course I can! After I heard him talking like that I wanted to learn the language! He's a nice guy, but most of the time people don't understand him...more people should at least try to branch out for the people in our town!") Katy states in the girls language only serving to stun her even further as she starts to cry in place "W-Whoawhoahwhoa d-did I say something wrong or offensive? I-I'm sorry! I-I uh-" She's interrupted by having the small girl body tackle her in a big hug ("No no you said everything perfectly...it's just...you're the first to actually do such a thing. My dad says to adjust and try to learn the language everyone speaks already, but that's easier said than done...learning to understand what you all say was one thing...but speaking it is a whole different story. No one bothered to speak our language...")

"Well it's like a friend of mine once told me. A little kindness never hurt nobody! So I did what I thought everyone should do!" the small mouse hops off of Katy and wipes her face clean ("Well thank you for that! It's a really nice gesture that I wish everyone would've done! And I thank your friend for that as well!") she goes back to her drum parts ("Names Mar by the way, but you and the shaking lamb can call me Ma-san!")

"What a lovely name- shaking lamb?" Katy turns around to see Lammy huddled in the corner "L-Lammy you ok?!"

"Y-Yeah just...k-kinda t-terrified…"

"Don't be! She's actually a really nice person! Her names Ma-san!" she turns towards Ma-san "I'm Katy Kat! And she's Lammy!"

"H-Hi M-Ma-san!..." Lammy mutters out.

("Not much of a spine on her is there?") Katy puts her hands on her hips "Ma-san!"

("What? It's true isn't it? You can see it yourself!") Katy just sighs at Ma-sans words prompting Lammy to ask what she said.

"She says she's very happy to meet you!"

("I didn't say that!") Ma-san drops her drum set pieces again and runs back towards the two.

"And that you're quite pretty!"

("Nor that!")

"And she would find it nice to be your friend!"

("ALRIGHT I APOLOGIZE. Just stop putting words in my mouth…")

"U-Um...i'm...g-gonna choose to believe all that until I learn to understand Ma-san so she can tell me what she said herself. But I w-wouldn't mind being her friend…" Lammy bends over and smiles at Ma-san who just huffs out while looking away with a small aggravated blush "Thenk yu!" the exchange in words earns a long "Awwwww!" from Katy.

"Hey Ma-san, so I see you play the drums!" Katy looks towards what Ma-san brought.

("Gee what tipped ya off?" Yes I play and i'm decent to my knowledge!")

"Why just decent?"

Ma-san sighs ("Because I have a habit of...bringing the house down…")

"But that's good!

("I mean literally...")

"O-Oh...less good…Actually no still good! It just mean you got some arms! A true drummer needs that! Not to mention no one can dare pick on you unless they wanna get pummeled into the dirt!"

("I don't need a pity party…")

"I'm serious! No quality is a bad quality when it comes to music!" Both Lammy and Ma-san were about to say the same thing until Katy cuts them off "I'm serious! What makes you both believe otherwise?"

"Experience…" Is all they both say.

"Oh…" Katy strums her bass once more trying to bounce off the negative vibes, to no avail until she decides to say one more thing. "Well Lammy what I was gonna say was if you wanted to try playing together now? And with Ma-san here it's sure to sound even better as a group of three! So how about it?" Both pondered for abit at her request.

"I don't o-object I g-guess…"

("Sure I guess, that way I won't be immediately blamed in case the place comes a crashing down!")

"Great! Let me help ya set up Ma-san!" in a quick zoom, she picks up and builds up Ma-san's drum set.

("You were just waiting for me to agree and say yes the second you noticed my drums weren't you?")

"Maybeeeeeee!~" She winks playfully.

("Well less work for me! So thanks I guess.") She pulls up a seat and hops onto it ("Well whaddya both waiting for? We gonna play or what?") Katy simply nods and Lammy fumbles trying to properly hold her guitar. Once all three are ready, Ma-sans dynamite reignites ("Then enough gabbing! Let's play!")

"I-I'm having second thoughts about this…" Lammy states.

"Relax Lammy! It's all in good fun for now! If we keep playing we'll eventually get a good enough groove even when we aren't playing together!" as she states this she see's lammy take a deep breath once the guitar is properly in her grasp "Yeah, you're right. Guess I kinda overlooked that point." Katy didn't seem to notice the great change in Lammy's demeanor and neither did Ma-san who simply shouted ("I SAID ENOUGH YAPPING! MORE ROCKING!") to which the other two gave a nod and began playing.

The sound was truly a spectacle to behold, the school day may have been done, but the others who were hanging around with friends could hear. Not just them but the other teachers could as well. But the trio took no notice, they were to busy having fun. But eventually their jam session came to an end when they deemed it was enough.

"YEAHHHH! That all sounded way amazing!" Katy said jumping with joy.

("Gotta admit! You girls can keep a tune!")

"It was amazing! I dunno what I was all worried about!" Lammy says with an honest confident smile.

Ma-san hops over to Katy and whispered, well whisper in her capabilities ("To tell ya the truth. I kinda decided to tone down my drumming in tune to your beats as to not break anything. And I didn't expect that to actually work!")

Katy was shocked, but whispered back "What!...B-But that's what I did listening to your beat…"

("But I thought I was following your beat…") They both gaze at each other confused over who's lead they took while playing. Their attention is immediately caught by Lammy who is strumming her guitar, creating a lovely melody causing the two girls to silently say "Ooooohhhh…"

"Lammy! You really are something on that guitar!"

"Am I? Huh, I guess so." She keeps playing "I don't usually see it myself to be fair."

Ma-san and Katy were left dumbstruck at how Lammy was acting now, she was a complete and utter parallel from how she was moments prior.

("You sure this is the same chick? No one grows a spine in that short amount of time! What did she get replaced by an evil doppelganger from hell?!")

"Ma-san! Evil doppelgangers from hell don't exist! Where'd you learn that?"

("One of the magazines I read showed one of my favorite actors talk about it!")

"Oh god, I know who you mean...Has it occured to you that maybe the guy was, ya know?" she rotates her eyes in circles as she spins her finger at the side of her head.

("Ok yeah he's had one to many breakdowns but I feel as if he was serious with that!")

"Fine fine, but my point still stands, this is the same Lammy!"

("I don't see it…") Lammy sets her guitar down to rest her fingers, then immediately notices the duo staring at her "O-Oh! I-Is there something o-on my face?!..."

("Now I see it.")

"Huh...would you look at that."

"L-Look at what?"

"Hm...Lammy what'd you think about our little play session?"

"O-Oh it was n-nice! Good to hear you two play so w-well!...I wish I was a-as good…" Katy's thought was cemented, Lammy was completely different when she had her guitar in hand.

"But Lammy! All three of us were great! Especially you!" Ma-san nods along Katy's encouragement.

"I-I-"

"She's right ya know." All three of the girls turn towards the new voice "Parappa! How long you've been standing there?"

"A few minutes, I was gonna applaud and tell you guys how amazing you sounded! But as I entered room, I could tell you were busy amongst yourselves so I decided to keep quiet until I found the right time." All three girls had their own separate reaction.

"O-Oh...eheh…" Katy bashfully scratches the back of her head.

("Who's the mutt?") Ma-san says turning towards Katy.

"A-A...E-Eh..M-Mee...urk…" Lammy had quite possibly the biggest reaction to noticing Parappa. Said reaction was one Katy could recall seeing a year ago, but couldn't figure out exactly what it was, causing her to subconsciously want to squeal with glee without a reason as to why, but she caught herself quickly.

"I'm serious though! I was starting to get into a rut as to what beat to start something with! Then I hear your amazing jam and suddenly inspiration struck! I actually have a basis to start my singing with right as I was gonna call it quits! You three were just that good!" Parappa puts a powered off Boxy Boy on his shoulder and walks towards the exit, but then turns around "You girls should form a band! You already have great chemistry together! It'd be great seeing how far you three go! I'd immediately be your first and biggest fan. Heck I already am now!" Parappa grabs the doorknob "And I can tell you easily that I'm not the only one." He opens the door, showing everyone who actually stayed at the school, lined up by it cheering and chanting for an encore. "See what I mean?~" Parappa walks out and closes the door to prevent the girls from being overwhelmed by the mob of fans.

The girls just stand there with their jaws dropped, Katy couldn't hold her excitement back any further "EEEEE-" Ma-san immediately stops her.

("No")

"No?.."

("Just cuz we got some people going gaga over the music we made, doesn't mean that everyone would enjoy it! I refuse to take the mutt's word as gospel. Who was he anyway?")

"He's the close friend of mine that taught me to branch out with kindness! His name's Parappa and we've been friends for quite some time. Enough time to know he's not lying. And if him or the crowd don't convince you. How about us? You clearly enjoyed what we played as did we! If you won't make the band to see how many fans we can make, then how about just for us to see how far our fun can take us! Right Lammy?" Lammy was still transfixed over Parappa's intrusion and sudden exit until Katy snapped her fingers "U-Uh...right!...W-Wait...what's right?..." Katy restated what she just said to the lamb.

"I-I dunno...Maybe Ma-san has a point?..."

("Now that's sound logic.")

"Come on girls...not even as just a friend attempt?..." She then looks to the floor "A-Aren't we friends?..."

Though they did just meet, they did enjoy one another's company. With an uneasy gulp from Lammy and heavy annoyed huff from Ma-san they both spoke up.

("Ok…")

"O-Ok…"

"Yay! You girls are not gonna regret this!" She pulls them both in for a group hug, catching them both off guard, then gasps "We need a band name!"

"O-Oh!...u-um…"

("Don't look at me!")

"Hm...MilkCan!"

Lammy and Ma-san look at Katy with pure confusion "MilkCan?"

"Yeah! I think that's a perfect name! It's an odd but an interesting and compelling band name! Just like us!"

"O-Odd…"

("Compelling…")

"O-Oh I uh...mean that...well if you don't…we can just pick a new name! I mean heh, I was just pulling at stri-"

"I like it..."

("Me to!")

"You do?!" Katy began beaming with pure joy as the both nod "Then it's settled! From this point on we're officially known as the band MilkCan! We're gonna need loads of practice! And group meetup jam sessions! Costumes! And a lot of other stuff! Ooooooh! But first we need something to commemorate today!" She pulls out her camera "And I have just the thing!"

"W-Whoa I r-rather not…" Lammy says nervously shying away.

("Yeah i'm with boneless on this one…photos aren't my thing...") Ma-san also backs away.

"Oh come here you two!" She wraps her arms around the two of them, bringing them close enough for her to take the picture.

The picture is framed in each of the girls rooms titled in red, orange and blue letters, _We Are MilkCan!_


	3. Memories of Happier days Part 3

Near the end of a busy and hectic day!

"I'm really really sorry! I got caught up in a lot of mess!" The three girls say together as they open the door to the concert hall.

"There you three are! Oh man and with barely any time to spare! I helped get your stage ready, the rest is up to you three to carry out!" Parappa escorts the three to where they need to be before heading off to join the audience.

"Ok, this is it. Are you ok?"

"Oh yeah. MilkCan is always on my mind!" A spark gathers between the three girls.

"LEAVE IT TO...MILKCAN!" the curtains rose and the audience roar signified the start of the show.

 _Nooooo cuttin' corners!_

 _She's on the border, NOWWWWWWW!_

This was the night of MilkCan's first live concert and to say it was a hassle to get to their final destination is an understatement, but at the end of the day it's safe to say that it was worth it. The near endless crowd cheering, as well as support from people who may or may not have been obstacles along the way. Nevertheless the night was perfect.

"COOL! We really REALLY Jammed!" She claps with the crowd before extending her arms towards Lammy "Thanks to our fabulous guitarist Lammy! Thanks a lot, everybody!" both Katy and Ma-san shout from delight.

("WOOHOO!")

"WOO!"

"YEAH! We really rocked the house!" Lammy says as she holds her guitar up in the air, glancing down towards the crowd, gazing upon the cheering masses that applauded them. Staring at the people who may have stunted her progress on getting here, but still offered help in one way or another by either helping her get to her destination, begrudgingly, or by bolstering her confidence and helping with personal anxiety. Her eyes then gathered towards two specific people who were standing side by side miraculously, being Parappa and Rammy, both of which seemed to not notice the other. Lammy then turns back once Katy calls for a group bow, causing the curtains to close.

"That's my cue to help move the stuff back to their dressing room!" Parappa then tries to run off, only to crash into the girl next to him. "Oof!... My bad-" he glances at the girl, both the lights and the impact of running into her leave him dazed. He calls out to what he assumes is a familiar face "L-Lammy? How'd you get here? Weren't you just up there?" The girl quickly became angry at the the rapping pup once she heard her name being mistaken for the other ewe "That's NOT my name!"

"H-Huh?..." Parappa rubs his eyes and his vision clears up, showing that he was half right "O-Oh!...uh...my apologies! W-Won't happen again! Uh...later!" He runs past her to carry on what he was doing leaving the angry girl to just simmer in place "Dumb mutt...who does he think he is, being able to mistake me for her…" Rammy glances back towards the empty stage "She was pretty good though…Was that a compliment?..."

Parappa arrives behind the stage with a dolly, catching up to the girls in the process "And here are the ladies of the night!"

"Oh you~" Katy just winks at him.

("Flattery gets you nowhere dude.") Ma-san huffs, refusing to let the praise get to her, poorly as her dynamite ignites with a pink flame.

"Heh...T-Thanks~..." Lammy utters out as she stares at her newly made guitar.

"You girls were fan-freaking-tastic! I mean you're always great, but here at your first live concert, there was just some magic that I just can't explain! Only react like a fanboy would!" Parappa begins piling on Ma-sans drums and the speakers onto the dolly.

"I think you reacted beyond how a fanboy would Parappa!"

("No kidding! I don't think anyone surpassed your cheers! You got so loud you almost started howling!") Ma-san laughs recalling the thought, embarrassing the pup.

"H-Haaaa...sorry bout that, but can you blame me?" he smiles like a dork as he scratches the back of his head but then quickly speaks up as he recalls something important "OH! Lammy!

Lammy nearly trips in place as her name is called out by him "Y-Yes?" Even with her guitar in hand, Parappa still made her fumble anxiously "Mr. Fussenpepper wanted me to give you this!" He hands over something familiar to her "M-My guitar!" she quickly grabs and hugs her recovered guitar, with Parappa in the process.

"Hrkk...to tight...can't...breathe…" Lammy quickly realizes that she's hugging Parappa and begins malfunctioning on the spot "Hiiiii….g-gcckkk...w-weeeh…" she drops him and the guitar, and begins to fall over backwards.

("Here we go again…") Ma-san rolls her eyes at an even she's clearly seen happen many times before already.

"L-Lammy!" Parappa drops everything he was currently holding and manages to catch her before she fully crashes onto the ground "W-What happened?"

"Oh!...She's uh...just so happy that our concert was a major hit as well as getting her guitar back! She nearly fainted on the spot!" Once Katy says this, a tomato faced Lammy just mumbles out "Uh-huh…"

"Oh...well you should probably sit down in your dressing room then! I'll pick up everything and bring it over to your room soon enough ok guys?" they all nod.

"Thanks again for the help Parappa!" The three of them then begin walking off, leaving Parappa to begin packing up.

("I still find it funny we basically turned him into a lackey.")

"He isn't a lackey!"

("Really, you're gonna look at that mess, and not call it a lackey? Would packmule be a better word for it?")

Katy sighs, unable to retort against the truth "Ok...we may have...taken advantage of his kindness...just a smidge…"

("A smidge...really now.")

"Yes! You got nothing on me!" as she says this, Ma-san pulls out a tape recorder and presses play on it, speaking out in Katy's voice.

 _Parappa, you can help us carry the equipment, buy snacks, and give us foot massages!_

"...I-I…"

("And may I remind you this is like the 30th time you asked him to do those exact things, that now he just does it out of habit for us.")

"N-No he doesn't-" Ma-san presses play again to continue where it left off, cutting Katy off again as it speaks in Parappa's voice.

 _Sure. Like always._

"I...I'm horrible…"

("Whoa there, I didn't say that. I just showed you that you were involved in turning him into our own personal butler is all!")

"And I feel horrible for it…"

("Why? He doesn't mind! Look at him! Following orders like the good boy he i- ok yeah now I can feel the guilt.")

"S-Should we tell him to stop?"

("We could, but I don't think he would.") the two of them sigh as they reach their dressing room, and enter the inside to escape the shame and relax.

"Well...what do you think we should do Lammy?"

"O-Oh!...I-I uh...I'm i-indifferent r-really…"

"Really? I'd figured you of all people would want him to stop." before Lammy can speak up however.

("Maybe she enjoys having him tend to her calls on a whim!~") Ma-san laughs as she says this causing Lammy to blush and bury her face in her hands, and Katy to slap Ma-san on the shoulder "Quit it!"

("OOF...Sheesh grow a sense of humor will ya?") Ma-san scoffs and mutters below her breath ("Not like I was wrong anyway…")

"I don't find it funny, you know Lammy likes him! Why tease her over it?"

("Maybe it's cause I see it as a lost cause. And this is probably the only way she can get close to her precious Parappa~") this time Ma-san gets conked on the head by Katy's bass ("OWOWOWOWOW...POINT TAKEN!") her fuse nearly explodes on the spot as she turns from orange to red.

Lammy sighs "She may have a point…maybe it's just my subconscious a-agreeing with this..." Ma-san calms down as she sees Lammy actually agreeing with her.

("W-Whoa now!...I really was just joking!") Lammy just hugs her knees.

("...ok...I admit I took it to far…") she walks over to Lammy ("Look, I'm sorry...I may have gotten a bit pushy...the bravado of the crowd got to me…")

About half a week after MilkCan was formed, Katy and Ma-san caught on to Lammy's crush on Parappa. Katy immediately and instinctively became her own personal love cheerleader, but Lammy lacked initiative to take a chance. Her fear for the worst always got her giving up last second. And then worse came to worst when him and Sunny became a couple at the same time Parappa's singing career took off. Leaving her feeling that he had skyrocketed past her league. It hurt, but what could be done? She wished she could've done something...she even subconsciously wished she could win him over, at least in her dreams. But all that was six months ago already. It was around that time that Katy slowly started turning Parappa into MilkCan's personal "butler", but was it for her sake? Seeing as the other two clearly had no recollection of what they were truly doing until the brought it up.

Lammy just groans as she places her face into her knees.

Ma-san sighs ("...I fucked up…")

The three of them are interrupted as a knock at their door is heard. "C-Come in…" Lammy says as she sits up properly.

"And the snacks are-" Parappa stares at the trio as they express nothing but sadness "Here...yo whats wrong? You girls just performed quite possibly the greatest concert ever heard! Why are you all upset now?..."

They struggle to find words until Lammy speaks up "H-Hey P-Parappa...how d-do you feel a-about having to do our b-busy work that we could b-be doing ourselves?..."

Parappa tilts his head "Huh? Well...At first I was upset, basically just being a monkey boy, but I shrugged it off. It was still an excuse to be near my favorite band! And eventually it just grew on me. I enjoyed doing all this as it was an excuse to chat and learn more about you guys! I knew a lot about Katy, but nothing about you two. And that's when I started learning! Learned to understand Ma-san and speak in her language. And learn more about you Lammy and your amazing moments! As well as how your already high coolness gets doubled when you have a guitar in hand! I don't even mind the work I gotta do, I always find it worth it!"

He was sincere, always has been. That factor did not help keep her love for him at ease, only amplify it. Now was one of those moments. "So y-you'd keep d-doing so? Even if it w-was unfair to y-you?"

"Well it's not exactly unfair to me. At least, not anymore. Now, I'd do it on a heartbeat without needing to be asked! That's something i'd never give up!" he then ponders for a bit realizing he may have worded that wrong "E-Erm...unless you guys want me to stop… D-Don't wanna come off as creepy, or overbearing or anything…" All three of them immediately speak up in unison "YOU'RE NOT!..." Parappa yelps and flinches at the sudden shout by the three of them before catching his composure "O-Ok!...g-glad to hear!

All three girls simply look away with their faces red from the dogs mushy speech then Katy tries to change the subject "S-So...You brought snacks?~..."

"Oh right!" he brings in a bag of different snacks "Loads a little light today, but I have a good reason for that! But I'll save that for the end." he walks up to each girl individually "Alright Katy's usual is the strawberry cheesecake with the light fizzy drink and a side bag of chips!"

"Thank you!~"

"Ma-san's usual is Is the salt and vinegar chips, diet soda and a big pretzel!"

("How do you manage to remember all this? Thanks dude.")

"And Lammy is just the fruit and veggie mix salad with an orange soda!"

"T-Thanks~..."

"Ok so the reason I was light on the food today was cuz-"

"ACK!..." Parappa was halted when he, Katy and Ma-san looked towards Lammy, whose soda had sprayed all over her, forcing a rather awkward situation as Lammy struggles to cover herself.

"WHOA WARDROBE MALFUNCTION!" Katy hops over to Parappa, forcing his beanie downwards, blocking his eyesight "W-WHAAA. W-Watch it! Why the sudden assault? What I do? Lemme go!" Katy was having none of it and refused to budge "Can you at least tell me what happened so that I can help?" Katy just sighs "Fine, but I'm not letting go. The soda you brought for Lammy seems to have exploded into her face as well as the rest of her body. Causing her to become a tad...see through."

"W-WHAT?! O-OH GOD L-LAMMY I AM SO SORRY!" He fumbles in place. _It must've happened when I bumped into that other girl! It caused the cans to get to shaken up!_ He tries to turn around and help, upon seeing this Katy pins him to the floor "Whoawhoawhoa hold it there. That's a rather quick to look action now isn't it?"

"Are you kidding? I'm already faithful to another gal!" Parappa could easily break out of her grip thanks to Chop Chop's teaching, they all knew this, but would rather not as she was in her right to keep him down as all of it was his fault "Look. i'll keep my beanie over my eyes, I promise you, just let me help! I caused this mess by accident! I wanna fix it!"

Katy reluctantly agrees "If I see you so much as peek for even just a second, I'm letting Ma-san handle you." Ma-san simply cracks her knuckles in response resulting in a small gulp from him.

"Look! I'm not lying!" He forces his beanie even further down, enveloping his entire head before uttering out a muffled "See!"

Parappa stumbles over to the bag where he pulled out the snacks until he finds his way, then pulls out paper towels. "Ok which direction is Lammy in?"

"Over h-here…" Parappa stumbles his way in the direction of the voice and hands over the paper towels slightly off by a few inches, but nevertheless he hit his mark.

"T-Thanks…" as she begins cleaning herself off she immediately notices something "This...isn't really helping…"

"Guess you're gonna have to change. Good thing you still have your regular clothes."

"Yeah, but...I don't know where the bathroom in this place is…"

"But I do!" Parappa speaks up again, earing a rather angry gaze from Katy that he could feel, even through the beanie "And yes i'll keep my beanie down!"

"All of this is rather convenient for you...isn't it Parappa?" Parappa immediately shouts…at a sofa "Are you seriously accusing me of planning all of this?!" Katy turns him around towards where she actually was "Well if the guilty shoe fits…"

"It was an accident! I swear!"

"I-I believe h-him…"

"THANK YOU!" Parappa hugs a lamp post that he mistakes for Lammy.

"N-No problem…" she also turns him around to her actual direction.

"I promise I didn't mean any of this…"

Katy just sighs with Ma-san silently snickering behind her "I believe you…"

("I have no grudge, it gave me a good laugh from start to soon to be finish!") she whispers to Katy ("And honestly, a good timing on some incentive for Lams to make a move, or atleast relish in the attention.") Katy's reply is only shoving Ma-sans own pretzel into her mouth to shut her up.

Parappa goes back to the bag and pulls out a jacket, one about his size "Glad dad made me bring this just in case it got cold! You can wrap this around your torso or waist to lessen how much you gotta cover on your way there!" He says as he talks to a mirror.

"O-Oh!..T-Thanks for t-that!..." She plucks the jacket from his hands prompting him to realize he was facing the wrong direction, then wraps it around her waist, and holding the bag of her other clothes around her chest.

"Ok let's go!" He runs towards to door, but forcibly runs into a wall, and falls onto his back, dazed.

("GAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!") Ma-san rolls on the ground, howling with laughter from Parappa's faceplant.

"Ow…" Parappa feels around the wall to find the door, then walks out once he finds it "Ok so...that was the entrance. So that way leads to the stage...then...that way's the restrooms!" At least with this he was correct with this assessment.

"T-Then lead the w-way please!.." Parappa hobbles off with Lammy walking after leaving the other two band members on their own.

("Think he'll lift his beanie up?")

"He won't. He's usually not one to lie. Plus he figures Lammy will tell us if he does even try."

("I don't know what you both see in him.")

"Well from what she said- Both? What do you mean both?"

("I'm not an idiot, I see you going gaga over the guy as much as she does, just not as blatantly obvious. Which she could stand to learn on how to do!")

"H-Hah! I do not!"

("Your tail curls into a heart whenever he compliments you in anyway way, shape or form.")

"A-Ah…" Katy couldn't deny that as even Parappa himself noticed that, but mistook it as her just being really happy for her band and whatnot "That's..heh...something against my control…"

("What I don't get is why you're keen on helping her try to get him rather than helping yourself.")

Katy sighs as she's forced to repeat something she told to PJ a long while back "I've felt the unrequited love hard, so I really rather not have a close friend suffer...it just sucks...that both Sunny AND Lammy are close friends...who both happen to love the same guy…"

("Who you're also in love with.")

"Point being is that I just...wanna help Lammy more since she's also a band mate as well as a best friend...seeing as Sunny and Parappa kinda snowballed without my help…"

("If that's the case then why cover the mutt's eyes when that little 'show' happened.") Katy just stares at her wide-eye'd "What do you mean why? He's still a boy about to peep on a girl!"

("Mhm. Ok. Now answer me this.") She pulls out the tape recorder again and switches to a different clips and presses play.

 _(So why exactly to we need to order only soda cans from him when asking for snacks?)_

 _Because Ma-san! I'm looking forward to starting something out of nothing!_

 _(I fail to see what scenario can come from soda.)_

 _The obvious one! There may be that one chance that the can will gush out the soda creating a mess that Parappa will, obviously, want to help out with! And with that, they're forced into being right next to each other, face to face! The awkward air forces the tension to rise as the moment happens! Causing Parappa to, probably, feel feelings he didn't even know he had for Lammy! And at that moments sparks fly as the lean in forward and-_

Katy grabs the tape recorder and crushes it within her hand. Her face beet red from being called out with heavy evidence.

("You're buying me a new one.")

"Why did you record THAT!"

("Why not. Besides you proved my point.")

"What point is that?"

("That your words are biting you in the ass right now seeing as you're internally unable to fully help Lammy.")

"What? I am so helping her!"

("Then why didn't you let that situation play out by itself? You acted like a jealous girl who was trying to stop her boyfriend from cheating with another woman who wasn't even trying to cheat.")

"Y-You didn't exactly help either with you cracking your knuckles as you agreed with me!"

("I was playing along, that was way to funny NOT to.")

"...You're right."

("And that's not- Oh you're agreeing with me...aw...I thought you'd deny it some more.")

"Look I just had another friend of mine tell me the same thing a while back and...I chose to not believe him...then he decided that I should do things to take my mind off of it...I begrudgingly agreed and decided to pick up the bass...and that all led me to meeting the two of you and forming this band...and at that moment...I was relieved. Like I actually got it off my mind."

("Then Lammy fell in love with him.")

"And the emotions came back…I guess it's subconscious jealousy? I dunno. I just wish it would stop…"

("Why? It's nice that you wanna help Lammy out, but that also doesn't mean you shouldn't have a go at it either. Granted right now neither of you exactly have much of a chance since he's all gaga over that daisy. And that doesn't seem like it's ending anytime soon.")

"I know I know. Next time I end up blocking off Lammy, mind smacking me out of it?"

("Hehe...gladly!~")

"I immediately regret asking...oh well thanks."

Back with Lammy and Parappa, we have Parappa still fumbling about.

"You know y-you can l-lift your b-beanie up if you need t-to…"

"No! It's not fair for you or Sunny that I look! That and Katy and Ma-san would kill me."

Lammy wanted to say so badly that she didn't mind. She really didn't as he was the only boy she'd be willing to show. But she couldn't muster up the courage. So she only just said "W-Well...that's up to you really...I-It doesn't m-mean anything...y-you're just f-fixing a problem that w-was out of your c-control…E-Either way you're as strong as Ma-san, if not stronger recently. Why be afraid?"

"I can't just fight back if I'm clearly the guilty one! That's what sensai taught me!"

"You learned a lot at that dojo didn't you?"

"Yeah! Shame it closed down though."

"Huh? Who was your teacher?"

"Chop Chop Master Onion! His dojo just became a run down old place! No clue what happened with that…" Upon hearing the name she could only mutter out "Ah…" as she didn't have the heart to tell him the truth.

"Well it's n-nice that you k-know not to use your t-teachings wrongly!.. Strength s-should never be a-abused…" She pets his head out of reflex, as if to say good boy. "Of course! Only for necessary occasions!" his tail starts to wag on it's own. Lammy realizes what she's doing, but before stopping, she clutches onto to the beanie. "Maybe I-I can just…" she begins lifting it up.

"H-Hey what're you doing!" The second she sees his nose poke out from under the beanie she immediately forces it back down.

"OOF…"

"S-Sorry!..."

"N-No worries...kinda deserved that for what I did…"

"H-Heh..y-yeah…" Lammy mentally kicks herself for her lack of bravery. _Now he probably thinks i'm really upset at him over this…_

"U-Um...Do you see sign hanging on the wall saying ' Welcome to-' with the rest of the sign broken off?"

"Y-Yeah right up a-ahead!"

"Great! Then we turn to the right from there and on the left is the bathroom!" And as he said, there it was.

"T-Thanks!" Lammy rushes in at a speed that forces Parappa into a topspin. As he stop he pulls his beanie back up. "Phew…" he reclines on the wall then speaks up again "Hey...um...I wanna explain myself for that whole mess back there…"

"I don't b-blame you a-at all Parappa!..." Lammy shouts from the inside.

"I know but I still wanna say what happened...When you guys finished your show, I immediately tried to go back there to help with move the stuff, but I kinda...bumped into someone next to me and got toppled down...shaking the cans in the process.

"Oh!...y-you're not hurt a-are you?"

"No I was fine!...kinda spooked out though...the girl I bumped into looked alot like you!" As he said that, silence was his only reply until.

"D-Did she happen to b-be all black and gray?..."

"Oh you know her?"

"Y-You could say t-that…" If she already didn't blame Parappa for anything, now she certainly knew none of it was his fault. Just a bad place at a bad time moment "Well you couldn't have controlled the outcome. She was just in the way at a bad time."

"I still should've been wary. I could've knocked over and hurt somebody!"

"B-But you didn't. A-And you w-wouldn't have m-meant to. It's not your f-fault at all Parappa. And no o-one can find an excuse t-to say o-otherwise!" Lammy leaves the bathroom with her clean clothes now on and walks up in front of Parappa to his surprise "Understand?"

Parappa's heart skipped a beat for no understandable reason as she said that while staring him down "Y-Yeah…" He could feel something in him heat up "I getcha…" He snaps out of it once she speaks up again "G-Good! Now let's h-head back to clear y-your name to t-them! Oh and I kinda got soda over your jacket...so i'll be cleaning it if that's ok? I'll hand it back to you when I get it cleaned!"

"R-Right! And o-ok!" they both head off while Parappa thinks to himself. _What the heck was that about? Why i'd just freeze up? Do I still feel guilty?_ He shakes his head to clear his thoughts as they arrive back at the dressing room.

"There you guys are, took long enough."

("Something kept you guys busy?~") Ma-san chuckles as Lammy speaks up "G-Get real! Y-You know he h-had to struggle with b-being unable t-to see where he was g-going!"

"Can't be helped. It was in the name of decency!"

("I wouldn't go thaaaaat far.")

"It's n-not like h-he meant for t-that to happen t-to me…"

"To you! For all you know-" Katy feel's a strong punch hit her in the back of the head "Oof...I mean, for all you know, maybe Parappa got unlucky in picking soda's. Maybe some jerks shook the cans beforehand!"

("Better.") Ma-san whispers to Katy.

"That's a-also a p-possibility! D-Does this mean you b-believe him?"

"Yes…"

("I'm with her.") Parappa jumps in joy at his cleared name until he remembers something important "OH WAIWAIWAIT!..." the girls turn to him with confusion "I ALMOST FORGOT WHAT I WAS GONNA TELL YOU AFTER THE SNACKS! THE OTHERS!"

"Others?...Hey wait that brings up a good point...where are the rest of our friends? Last you told me was that Paula and Matt were busy helping out at some place. Sunny was with her dad on errands. And PJ was off on a banana hunt! But you said they'd still catch our show! And I see a big lack of the four of them "O-Oh that's because...uh...have to...ask them that! They're currently off somewhere and I was tasked to bring you there!"

("Hey wait you skipped out on the foot massages!")

"Ma-san not now!" Katy then turns to him with arms crossed "Why?..."

"I...uh...d-dunno!" _Hope they bought that..._ "I was just told to bring you gals there! To the other side of town!"

The three girls look at each other then shrug and in unison say "Ok."

"Great let's go!"

Upon leaving the place, the three girls get ready to run to the destination until Parappa stop them as he drives up to them "Wouldn't it be easier for me to just drive you there?..."

"Oh right! S-Sorry we all just had a real long day, and running, and...yeah.." They say in unison as they get in the car.

"Alright then! We're loaded up with MilkCan's equipment, MilkCan themselves and the need to get there fast!"

"Just be careful Parappa!" Katy shouts from the back.

"That one crash was an accident!"

"Yeah sure…~" She rolls her eyes playfully before laughing.

"H-Hey wait a m-minute...h-how'd I end up in t-this seat?!" Lammy whispers realizing she's in the seat right next to Parappa. She then hears a high five between Ma-san and Katy before sighing and accepting her fate.

After a Leisurely paced ride, they arrive at the destination. "We're here!" Parappa shouts as he turns to the three of them who all look out the window.

"Oh!...wow…"

"W-What a unique a-area…"

Ma-san was the only one who refused to tip toe around the problem at hand ("The heck did you bring us to this run down place for?!")

"Look I know it looks like an abandoned shoddy warehouse, but trust me! We have to go in there!" The girls uneasily look at each other.

"I-I'm starting to f-feel less safe…" Lammy says with a shiver.

Realizing what the girls were mistaking the whole thing for Parappa facepalms as he admits the poor conditions as well "I told them you'd mistake it for that…" he then sighs as he explains the entirety of what really was going on "Look, inside there are the others who were planning an after party in celebration for your concert!"

"Then why the heck inside that run down thing! You realize the big wrong idea we got out of that?"

"Yes I did and I warned them about it, but they just said that you three wouldn't! The point of that was so that no one would interrupt or bother you three. Because no one would ever expect a great band being celebrated within an old warehouse!"

"That sounds like they just didn't wanna deal with the cleanup for the outside of the building…" Katy says as she scoffs at the poor planning.

"Aye dios mio…" Lammy says as her head falls back into the seat, agreeing with Katy.

("Eh some other celebs I read about love these sorta appearances to secret parties, so i'm cool with it.") Both Lammy and Katy look at Ma-san with the greatest concern.

"Look trust me you two. It's gonna be fine! I'd never let anything happen to any of my friends on my life! Mark my words!" Each girl had their own remark to that.

Lammy's was stammering around until she managed to say thank you, only in spanish however.

Katy's was also saying thanks, as her tail curls into a heart again, unbeknownst to her.

Ma-san just abruptly replies with ("Oh barf…")

As they reach the warehouse door, they hesitantly go against opening it, until they just sigh and push it open. As it opens the lights illuminate the place up greatly with a banner that drops down saying "CONGRATULATIONS MILKCAN!" with the remainder of their friends popping out shouting "SURPRISE!"

"Sorry we couldn't make it to your concert! Turns out decorating this place took a lot more time than expected!" Matt says scratching his head.

"I opted to freshen up the outside of this place to, but the others just shouted no." Sunny says with a shrug "Hope you didn't mistake this for a kidnappers hut."

The girls then laugh nervously "Haha...no of course not…"

"Why w-would we e-ever think t-that…"

Ma-san belts out in english "It's exactly what they thought."

Sunny then crosses her arms and stares at PJ, Paula and Matt angrily "Told you…"

"Ok so we may have skimped out from laziness…, but that's not the point! At least you can clearly see it's a party! And now you three should be celebrating over your success! After all that's what a party is for!" Paula states as she pulls Katy and Lammy in towards the snack table.

"You would not believe how much I struggled not to eat anything here...you're lucky...I had to stock up on banana's to satiate me…" as PJ says this, Lammy just adds on "Y-You don't say...I hope you threw the peels away in a garbage can…"

"Why? It's only a banana peel...not like anyone died from slipping on one." Silence was PJ's answer, forcing him to catch on "Oh...duly noted." Lammy just sighs in annoyance as PJ hands everyone a drink. "To MilkCan!" Parappa says holding his cup up to Katy who responds back in key "To MilkCan!" than following everyone else with one final group shout "TO MILKCAN!" They all share a group laugh as they begin enjoying the party for the remainder of the night.

Many Many months later, in the not so secret base of the leader of a noodle syndicate.

" _Thanks brother, for lettin' me understand, that a man must understand to keep his options open!"_

" _You're welcome brother, for lettin' you understand, that a man must understand to keep his options open!"_ both Parappa and Colonel Noodle do one final spin as their rap battle ends with Parappa as the victor.

"See? Noodles aren't the only food around you know!"

"Yeah, you're right! I'm up for some noodle sushi!" Both laugh until Noodles adds on "But maybe without the noodles, just this once!." to which Parappa chuckles.

"Hey man, now that you aren't trying to noodleize the town and actually give other food a chance. How about a picnic?"

"A picnic?"

"Yeah with me and the rest of my friends. You don't seem like a that bad a dude! Just don't go forcing us to eat noodles this time!"

"I accept your offer! And I'll do my best!" the two then shake hands.

PJ lifts his shades and just stares with a smile on his face before speaking just out of everyone's hearing, as if to monologue to himself "You really grew up in many ways you know man? I dunno if it's the way you wanted to in order to be the man Sunny would want, but if she can't see the real grown up guy that you are, then she doesn't deserve you. I mean not a lot of people would nonchalantly invite the guy who nearly wrecked an entire town to a picnic! You truly are a great friend Parappa. I hope you never lose that spark."

"What are we standing around here for? I offered a picnic right?" And with that Parappa runs off to the exit with Colonel and the rest of his friends right on his trail. As both him and Noodles leave the building they meet up with Sunny and fill her in on what the rest of em are doing as they all carry on running with Sunny and Parappa hand in hand. Until the finally reach their destination.

"Man, this sure is the good life ain't it?"

"Yeah...and to think I almost got rid of it all!..." Noodle looks at his food dejectedly.

"I mean yeah it'll take a bit to apologize to everyone, but apologizing in itself won't be to rough. Like I said man, you don't seem like that bad a dude. Just one who needed to find the alternatives in life!" Noodle perks back up as he nods "Thanks man!"

"In fact...Hey Sunny, you still have the new spare beanie you made me?"

"Of course! Why asking?"

"I'm afraid it's not gonna end up being my spare anymore." Sunny giggles "I think I get you." She hands it over to Parappa who in turn hands it over to Colonel Noodles "I've only done this once as a sign of how strong our friendship was and could be. And I haven't done it again since, mostly cuz I didn't have enough beanies...but that's not the point. Here I offer it as a sign of friendship!" Noodles takes it "I graciously accept! Oh and I think I have something to give in return as my own sign!" He hands over a letter.

The letter reads.

 _Dear Parappa,_

 _Please come and play at our concert._

 _Yours Truly._

 _Colonel Noodle._

"Cool! Colonel Noodles got us a stage to perform! How great!"

.

At the concert hall the next day.

"Hey Sunny, I've tried so many things to try and grow up, but I don't think I really did...So for today's show, I'm just going to do what I always do!" Sunny just smiles warmly before correcting him.

"Don't be silly Parappa. You're man enough already! If you keep trying and never give up, you're already a grown up."

"Yeah! I GOTTA believe!" with that said Parappa, PJ, Katy, Lammy and Ma-san head towards the stage while the rest head towards the audience.

"Well well well! Are you a sight for sore eyes dude!"

"Mushi!" Parappa runs up and fist bumps his four hands.

"You're the talk of the town and the star of the show once again! Ha, after this concert I'll be sure to make you my apprentice! You got what it takes to go real far, farther than me! And that ain't no lie!" He gives a big hearty laugh all while Parappa is just shocked by the amazing news, then he looks towards Mushi, his friends and his teachers and then up to his hat that he temporarily removes "Mom, if only you could see me now. I may not be as big a hero as you, but I'm sure I still became someone you would've been proud of!" He then places his beanie back on as Mushi calls towards him to tell him they're up as he heads to the rising platform.

"Yeah, yeah, y'all. This is it! Back once again, the final party! Is everyone ready to do this?" The crowd roars giving King Kong Mushi his answer as the song begins.

The crowd roars with cheer for both Parappa and Mushi as well as the four behind them playing amazingly. Flowing in sync with the two singers. And it was going great until Mushi surprises the crowd. "Hey now, look at Parappa and how he's become a MAN!" he ties a balloon around his waist and has him float above the audience "Enjoy the show!" The crowd begins following Parappa as he hovers over them, freestyling to the beat of the music. The audience cheering him on. However the cheering eventually evolved into the crown mimicking what he was saying, which got him thinking. And with that thought, he unties the balloon and lands back on stage and resumes singing.

"SAY ALRIGHT!"

 **ALRIGHT!**

"SAY OH YEAH!"

 **OH YEAH!**

"WHATCHA GONNA DO?"

 **WHATCHA GONNA DO?**

"I GOTTA BELIEVE!"

 **I GOTTA BELIEVE!**

After this Mushi, PJ and MilkCan joined in.

"SAY ALRIGHT!" Mushi and Katy shouted with Parappa's teachers following.

"SAY OH YEAH" Lammy and Parappa continued.

"WHATCHA GONNA DO?" PJ and Ma-san added on.

"I GOTTA BELIEVE!" Finished off the audience.

"Wow! Now this was surely a night to remember!" Mushi says to Parappa and the crowd "It sure was! I'll never forget tonight! Right Everybody?" The loud cheering was his answer, he couldn't help but wag his tail to it all that he repeated the final verse one last to the audiences joy. "Alright yeah!" Colonel noodles shouted as the song finally came to a close and everyone waved towards the audience.

After the audience had all left leaving everyone Parappa knew together they all just started chatting among themselves. "You were amazing up their Parappa! But I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less!"

("Don't inflate his ego Katy!")

"A-Aw let him h-have this!"

"Not everyday you save the day and get a large party in your honor."

"I dunno PJ, I'm with Ma-san here."

"Aw Paula let Parappa be! He earned it this time!"

"What do you mean _this_ time Matt?" Parappa crossed his arms as he rolled his eyes to that remark, but everyone just laughs "Gee thanks for that guys." Parappa says before joining the laughter. Before long they're cut off be hearing feedback on a microphone.

"Eep!...sorry! Haven't really used one of these in a while…" It was Sunny "I wanted to do something, but I need help with what it is I exactly wanna do...Can you four help me?" She motions towards PJ, Katy, Lammy and Ma-san.

"Sure thing." PJ hops onto the stage.

("I don't see why not.") Ma-san follows suit.

"Of course Sunny!" Katy zooms next to her.

"O-Oh you n-need my h-help?...Um, s-sure! I'll d-do what I can!..." With all four of them now up with her, she huddles them in and whispers to them what she wants to do. PJ snaps an ok as he runs off to do what he was informed and suddenly the lights began dimming. When it came to Lammy's required help, her heart sank. She, along with the rest of MilkCan were required to play a love song from her to Parappa. It stung, but Lammy did her best to hide it replying with a solemn "Leave it to Lammy!" As she holds onto her guitar. With that, the girls went to position as the lights dimmed further, with a pink blue spotlight enveloping Parappa "Whoa!...uh...talk about being put on the spot!"

A pink spot light turned on covering Sunny. As she looked up towards him, the music began to play. "This is for you." and she began singing.

 _It was...cold...that niiiiight_

 _When you, came into my...troublesome life…_

 _And it seeeeemed as though…_

 _Everything's gonna be alriiii-hight, for the moment_

 _Since then hereeee and thereeee,_

 _My life's become…_

 _Like a rollercoaster ride_

 _Up and Down, round and round._

 _Bad times and Good times were on hand_

 _We tried to live up to our feelings…_

 _But then soon, we overcame them all!_ As she got to this part of the song, the girls sang out "Parappa para Parappa." and from here on they sang along with her.

The song was beautiful, there was no denying that. And that was the problem. As the song went on, both Sunny and Parappa were dancing together. Parappa even began singing along. This was a night no one would ever forget, for some it was probably the best night of their lives. For others, they could only wish the memories could go away. But for Parappa, it was the best day of his life.

….so why did it go wrong?

Parappa, age 19

"A-Ahah...I'm sorry...c-can you repeat that to me Sunny?..."

Sunny just sighed sadly "I'm leaving Parappa...by the end of today...i'll be far far gone…"

"I-I don't understand...w-why?..."

"My dad...he just...worries for me...everything goes hectic every once and a while to a point...My dad worries that something will end up happening to me…"

"But he knows I would never let that happen!"

"I know...we both do...and that's another reason...Both of us would never forgive ourselves if anything happened to you...My dad is your dad's life long friend...he knows what it felt like when you lost your mom...he would never want you to end up in that spot...and me...That feeling is multiplied… I never want to see you get hurt...Like what happened recently…"

"B-B-But i'm fine! S-See? I'm moving fine. H-Hahahaa….n-no problems whatsoever!..." Parappa starts moving his body around exaggeratedly to prove his point, but Sunny grabs his hand, to which he winces. She then pulls up his sleeve revealing bruises and cuts.

It was by no means a magnitude of disaster like what happened to his mother, but it almost became that way. The warehouse that celebrated MilkCan's first concert, almost became Parappa's grave. Ever since the party it became a hangout for their circle of friends, but two months before today's dreadful news. It started falling apart. Was it age? Was it Joe Chin? The bullies? Was it one of the passing villains of the time? Who could say. It was devastating and terrifying. As the building collapsed, they all froze from panic until Parappa snapped them all back to reality. Immediately thereafter they were all separated by falling debris. Parappa managed to break through each obstacle to get to his friends to help them escape, each destroyed obstacle wearing his strength down more and more. He chopped a rusty railing that was preventing Matt and PJ from leaving in half, he lifted off a big pipe that was keeping Paula and Ma-san cornered. As he kicked away broken bits of the roof to get to Sunny, Lammy and Katy, and soon he noticed that sharp metal parts began falling towards them. He wasted no time and picked up one of the pieces of the broken ceiling and shielding the three of them with it, then began escorting them to the exit. They almost made it were it not for area around the door, suddenly caving in on itself, almost trapping them. Parappa caught it just in time, but did not have the strength to keep the exit open, so he ordered the three to leave first and that he'd follow after they'd done so. However this was a blatant lie and he knew that, because as they left his strength finally failed him as what he was holding gave way like his strength to keep holding it up and fell all on top of him. Needless to say the screams were plentiful as everyone dug out the fallen building, hoping their friend was still alright. And miraculously they found his body, shielded just barely by a sign the group put on the inside of the warehouse claiming it as there's. There was still some things they had to get off of him. And once that was done, they wasted no time pulling him out. And thankfully he was still alive and breathing, only just unconscious.

"Sunny...t-this is nothing alright? As long as it wasn't you…" she just pulls back down his sleeve and holds onto his hand as if she was clinging to dear life. Most specifically his.

Parappa was immediately sent to the hospital, nothing was broken which was a miracle in and of itself, but it would sure feel like everything was to him for a while. He was unconscious for two days, until he woke up while it was Katy's turn to keep watch over him, and she immediately alerted the others. Their task from then on was to prevent him from moving, which was easier said than done. He kept trying to insist he was alright. But when he got his way, upon standing up, he collapsed onto the ground writhing in pain. Parappa was there for a month spending his birthday within, and upon leaving he was under house arrest by his friends and family's orders. This was absolute hell for him, he didn't wanna be a burden, and what his friends were doing surely weren't helping him avoid feeling that way. Now he's nearly alright, but the bruises and cuts are still taking their time to heal. If he overexerts himself, he'll just relapse through the pain again. So he wouldn't do anything to tasking, this even included rapping much to his dismay.

"I'm sorry Parappa...but I can't stay…"

"Please don't leave me…"

"H-Heh...I truly wish I didn't have to...to a point I even considered to my father if we could...bring you with us…, but I shot that idea down immediately...I could never do that...that'd be to selfish of me...I can't keep you." She lets go and dusts off her dress. "Our friends need you, your family needs you...this town needs you! Who knows what else...maybe even the world...I can't take you away from them…"

"B-But…"

"I'm sorry Parappa...but long distance relationships don't work out…" She walks up to a pulled up truck that her father is driving.

"S-Sunny!..."

She only stares at him with tears flowing like endless waterfalls, matching his. "It's time to move on Parappa Rappa…" she futilely wipes her tears away "Keep on believing ok? You'll find someone better…~ I'm sure of it, and by then you'll not only have moved on, but also forgotten all about me." She begins crying harder each word she says "Good bye…" she enters the truck and it begins driving off, Parappa fruitlessly tries running after it, only to collapse half way from forcing his body. Parappa, while trying to get back up just repeats the same phrase over and over "Please come back…"

"Please come back…."

"Please don't go…"

"Don't leave…"

"Please…"

Parappa's eye's open, bloodshot and tear stained. To another sleepless night.

"Time's were so much better back then…" Parappa rolls to his side "No troubles..no pain...only happiness and love…" he stares out the window at a rampant thunderstorm "But now my muse is gone. And i'm left with the feeling of decay." He curls up into a ball "I miss them...the memories…"

" _Memories of Happier days..."_

Current Parappa, Age 20.

(A/N)

 _Woooo this was something, with long planning and replanning over how to word things better or just flat out rewriting something for a better sense of what I was going for. I think this was worth it? I dunno this is just the prologue! There's alot more to come, if you have any feedback you'd like to add, i'd be happy to hear it and think of considering it depending on what it is! Unless it's spelling or grammar mistakes in which case tell me them ASAP._


	4. Pick me up

The following morning was deceptively bright while over the Rappa household, the young man who the town grew to love, was left feeling loveless. His friends and family, deemed enough was enough.

"Soooooon!"

"Leave me alone dad...I already said I'm not leaving the room…"

"Not that!"

"And I'm not going with you to the Inventors expo..."

"Nor that!"

"Then leave me alone…"

"Son while I respect your wishes and your privacy! Enough is enough!"

"Good luck getting in, thanks to you teaching me about engineering, I removed the lock and made it voice automated…"

"Well I have something to surpass even that!"

"What could that possibly be…" as Parappa says this, Papa Rappa kicks the door down "A stern father's foot."

"Whoopie, you're in now what are you gonna make me do…"

"Not me, I feel like I can't really handle a situation like this…"

"Then why kick down my-"

"Hold it there conclusion jumper. I don't, but they do!" From behind Papa Rappa appears an older Katy and PJ, the latter of which has since grown, now passing all of them. Katy was now wearing a red shirt with a star and microphone symbol on the front and blue jeans, her shoes were about the same, only now bearing a plus insignia on the front, something that all members of MilkCan sport somewhere on their new articles of clothing. She now has also let her hair grow longer, but only much more noticeable from behind. PJ has opted to wearing shades 24/7 with a different one each day, a green and blue hawaiian shirt and red sandals.

"Oh joy…"

"I'll uh...leave him to you two..." he walks off, stops to turn his head to his son and sighs before walking off again.

"This was a lot worse than I expected..."

"You're telling me. Look at him. Dude! Have you even left this room at all?" PJ says as he lifts up his shades.

"Yeah...to shower...change...head to work...rush back...encase myself back in here…"

"Work? I rarely see you there!" PJ says only to recall seeing a blur rush in and out at the pastry store every day since the whole event began. Only lasting less than an hour. "Ah...right…"

"And eating?..." Katy adds on hoping the answer she gets isn't what she's expecting.

"I eat…"

"Oh thank-"

"And then my body forces me to throw it back up…"

"God…"

"So basically nothing I guess…" he rolls over onto his side to avoid making eye contact.

"How are you even still kicking?" PJ states, genuinely shocked.

"Beats me...I guess trying to eat is good enough for my stomach…" PJ just rubs his forehead at his reply.

"You have to eat man."

"Good luck getting me to keep it in my gut for more than two minutes…"

"Parappa you've been like this ever since she left a year ago...It's not healthy...it's a miracle you're even still alive in the conditions you're in!" Katy begins yanking him off the bed, but he just slinks onto the ground "Ugh…Parappa come on. PJ help me pick him up."

"You got i-" Just as PJ was about to finish his sentence and help, something down stairs blows up, followed by Papa Rappa yelling in both pain and success "IT ALMOST WORKED!...OUCH!..."

PJ sighs "I should probably help with that…" Katy just groans and nods, to which he leaves the room "Ok Parappa, why's this eating away at you so much?" She sits him up properly on the floor, using the bed frame to hold him up.

"You tell me… Oh wait… You can't...not like you've been suffering the pain of lost lov-" Katy's hand instinctively slapped him across the face against her better judgement or control "I-I am so-"

"And that was supposed to help me how…"

"...look man...believe me or not...but I actually do get how you're feeling...and understand what you're going through and why you choose to go through it...But it's not right…"

"If you 'understand' then how come i've never seen you in a state equal to how I am right now…"

"Because I remembered I have tons of people caring for me...willing to help me! Willing to _cry_ for me and my well being to SHOW how much they care…just like you!"

"That's a-" Parappa stops himself, recalling the instant that had him hospitalized. How he was blanked out for two days, and the doctors told him that he should've been out longer given his body's condition and that it was a huge shock to see him wake up when he did. But why did he if that was case? If it was so rare to have gotten back up...then why did he? And then he started recalling voices.

 _Hey...come on man...you gotta get up...who's gonna get mad at me when I decide to sleep out in the open rather than do anything productive…_

 _(If you managed to beat me in arm wrestling, then this should be nothing to you!...Right? Come on mutt you're stronger than you look! Seriously man...this shouldn't be this drastic towards you…)_

 _Heh...hoo man...they say we're lucky, but I don't consider myself lucky. If I wanted to feel that way, than all of us should've come out of that ok...If anyone's lucky it's you… I bruise when I get hit with a basketball at our games! And not even if it's thrown hard! PJ could lightly tap it on me and boom! Bruise!...but you...it took a rundown warehouse to try and take you down and even that failed...so why aren't you opening your eyes?..._

 _I'm not saying get better, because I refuse to believe anything's wrong with you...you're strong. In many forms of the word...and yet...I still can't help but want to say because I see you here...like this...grr...you idiot...why can't you wake up...wake up!...WAKE UP!..._

 _PAULA DON'T SHAKE HIM LIKE THAT!...and she's gone...someone will cheer her up...until she gets a look at you again...I don't blame her...I wanna do what she just did to but...that would hurt you...that's the last thing I wanna do...heh...my dad and your dad got into their first fight since they were kids...at least that's what my dad told me once the two of them found out you were here...that's the first time i've seen him so mad...and the first time i've seen your dad mad at all...but they're both just...really sad...can you blame them?...I'm sad to...I want my boyfriend to be ok...I want him to wake up and tell me it's going to be alright...that I just need to keep my head high and keep on believing...I...got to go...I can't...I feel like I'll breakdown on the spot if I stay here any longer…_

 _H-Hey...so...you're here…l-like this...all...b-broken...t-thanks to me… I want t-to say sorry so b-badly...but what would t-that change?...it a-already happened...I want you to g-get angry with m-me for almost c-costing you your life...I w-want you to yell...I w-want you t-to..shout...I-I w-want a-a...nything...just p-please...w-wake...up…_

 _Big bro?...You're gonna be ok right?...Please don't leave us...Please tell mom to let you stay with us here...please…_

 _Sweetie it's best to let him rest for now...Your brother will fine alright? The doctor said so, he just needs time… but I wonder...how much time that will end up being…_

They were all there by him as he was out cold...worrying for his well being...hoping that he could wake up...Katy was correct. They were all there crying for his sake. He could hear each individual person's voice break as they spoke, and the teardrops as they hit the floor. Then he remembers the last voice as he woke up.

 _Hey...So here we are...you...like this...thanks to us...but you wouldn't say it was our fault. I mean...yea the thing collapsing couldn't be anyone's fault...but while it was collapsing...we didn't do anything...it was pure...fear...shock...terror...forcing us to rely on you rather than help you...but for me? The feelings were magnified...I couldn't believe it...it was happening again...the same thing...from nine years ago...only this time...I was about to lose someone even closer to me...heh...not like you'd understand what I mean by that...I mean yes you see how close you are to me and vice versa...but...not the way I fully see you...heh...I don't wanna just be the sister figure...I don't even know if you can hear...or if I want you to hear what I'm saying right now…please wake up...you promised we'd be friends forever..._

At this point he can't recall what Katy was saying anymore, she was whispering past this point, so lowly that even he couldn't hear it. He also couldn't exactly tell what she meant with the last few words, did she feel guilty for it all? What happened after? He can't fully recall but he remembers a weird pressure on his lips and silence for a brief moment when it suddenly stopped, and it was at that moment, he woke up. And what he saw as his eyes opened up in a sickly manner was a near familiar sight he recalls from 13 years ago. He woke up staring at Katy, but she wasn't staring at him with a blank expression like back then, rather she had tear stains around her eyes and a light pink hue on her face, the look was more akin to a mixture of sadness, shock, relief, and joy as her dried eyes sprung tears again upon seeing his own eyes open. He wasn't sure what she did that got him to wake up, but he was happy for, whatever it was, got him to do what they wanted in order to stop the sadness, wake up.

As he finishes remembering all of that, he recalls what Sunny told him the day she left

 _Our friends need you...your family needs you, the town needs you! Who knows what else...maybe even the world…_

She was starting to show merit in her words, but why did they all need him? What made him so special? Then he recalled something his mother told him years ago.

 _There's my little energetic ball of sunshine! Heh...you are such a shining beacon of hope for me you know sweetie?...When I first had you, I thought I had everything planned out, but then I realized you can't really fully plan for a baby...and I panicked...but your father just grabbed my hand and told me 'It's going to be alright, just do what you always do, keep on believing. No matter what happens, it'll be alright because we'll make it alright!' And he was right. It was ok, seeing you was a sign that it truly was and always would be ok. Hehe...you're like the living embodiment of my catchphrase you know that? So rather than just something I say to myself or those around me to keep their heads up. You are the walking feel of it, lifting everyone spirits! You may be a troublesome little squirt, but no one can deny that you don't brighten up their day even just a little. And I feel like that little power of yours will only get better and stronger as you grow older. That's what I think-...no. That's what I_ _ **know**_ _. And a mother is never wrong! But we'll have to wait and see for how much of an impact you have on the people around you~_

It was only now that she finally made sense, that all the pieces had connected in his brain, and he was suddenly disgusted with himself. For if his mother saw what he was currently doing now. Disappointment would be an understatement to what she'd really be feeling because of him. All his friends and family found him as a source of light in their life. And he just drops that all because of someone leaving him? Said someone who also told him NOT to do what he's doing now? "...That's a...fact…"

Parappa then felt a painful pit in his stomach, as if once he realized the core of his actual problem, his body finally let him do what it was supposed to do, only it was also letting him feel the pain and repercussions of NOT doing those things, and with that he clutched his stomach and flopped to his side in pain.

"P-PARAPPA?" Katy wasted no time in kneeling to his side.

"I'm...so...exhausted…and so...hungry...there's...pain everywhere…" Parappa forces himself up "I'm...sorry…"

"W-What for?"

"You're right...I was being an ass…not realizing how much trouble I was causing people just by shutting myself out..." Parappa started stumbling, as his eyesight got blurry, he was about to pass out, but he refused to until he finished his apology "I...didn't see how much of an impact and influence I really had on people...what I meant to them...what...I was...for...them…" Parappa falls to his knees "I...want...h-hellllllllll…..p..." he finishes off his cry for help with a thud on the floor as he lays there unconscious from exhaustion and lack of eating.

"PARAPPA!...H-HELP! M-MR. RAPPA! PJ!...A-ANYONE!" The mentioned men wasted no time in running to where they were.

"W-WHAT HAPPENED?" they shout in unison upon arrival.

"H-His body finally caught up to how poorly he's been treating himself…he's out cold..."

"PJ call for an ambulance."

"On it!"

The call was sent and received and the doctors arrived and took Parappa once again to their surprise. They assumed he was fine after recovering fully, a full year after his last visit. And the news of this was certainly a shock

A week later.

"And with that, you're free to go! But I cannot stress this enough, no more food withdrawal or skipping out on sleep. It was something to do it for a whole year and only come out with just a week of needed help, but I wouldn't press your luck on doing it again alright? You got lucky twice, I don't know if lady luck will keep you in her blessing. Don't test it."

"Understood doctor."

"I don't wanna see you back in here alright?"

"Yes doctor, sorry."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." She looks out the door to where his dad, Katy, Pinto and PJ are seated.

"I know…" and with that said he heads on to where they are "Hi everyone…"

"Glad to see you're in a stable enough condition to walk man." PJ says as he walks over to greet him.

"Heh...yeah...gonna have to eat and sleep a lot more than usual for a bit to make sure I stay this way."

"Now isn't that a load of irony." PJ just smirks at him, trying to lighten the mood.

"Got me there!...look...i'm...real sorry about this mess...I was being the king of all jerks to you all, and for what? Some misinterpreted sadness…"

"I hold no grudge son, both because i'm your father and because I understand, after all the heart is both the strongest, yet most fragile part of the body."

"H-Heh...got that right Mr. Rappa…"

"Yeah...PJ, Katy?" Both look towards him "Like I said as I...conked out again...I...want help...I wanna shake off the remaining sadness to prevent myself from ending up as that mess again…"

Both walk up to him and place a hand on his shoulder.

"I'd do that regardless, hell I was already planning to! Gotta get you to ease up and relax now right?~"

"Help my best bud? When have I NOT done that? And to help him eat no less? I might actually be mistaken for a more active person once I'm done with you!"

"Thanks guys…~" Parappa felt blessed during this moment, watching as his father smiled brightly, but his sister refused to take her eyes of the ground. He walked up to the fourteen year old.

"Hey."

"Hey…"

"Sorry for...you know...scaring ya again...heh…"

"You're a jerk…"

"...yeah...I know…"

"Please don't do this again…"

"I'll do my best aight?"

"You promise?"

"You better believe I do!" She looked up to reveal a tear stained face but an honest and warm smile, but you wouldn't have been able to tell had she not looked up with how long her hair's gotten, nowhere near as long as how his unruly mess has gotten, but still enough to cover a lot of her face if she looked away at the right angle. "Thanks bro...n-no offense to mom but I rather not have her repeatedly trying to take you from us…"

"E-Eheh...yeah…" Parappa looked away. _Such an...uneasy but effective metaphor…_

"Well I think it's about time we hightailed it out of here!" Katy said to which everyone nodded in agreement with.

During the drive home, Papa Rappa drove the lot towards his home with PJ in the passenger seat next to him as his size would be rather tough to sit next to with any of the other the three in the back. Parappa was on the left side, Pinto on the right and Katy stuck in the middle of them.

"You sure you don't want me to drive us back dad?"

"You were just checked out of the hospital. It's not that I don't trust you...it's just…yeah I don't trust you."

"Gee thanks for the bode of confidence."

"Relax! Once I see you fully alright, you'll be driving again like usual!"

"Fine." Parappa just slinks into his seat.

"Also look at out, we're approaching some wide turns so careful if you guys topple over!" Just as he says that, they approach the first of said turn and an idea pops into Pinto's head. "Ooooooooooooops! I'm being toppled over against my control! Sorry Katy!" She pushes into Katy, Shoving her literally ontop of Parappa "W-Wahahahahey! W-What're you doing P-Pinto?" her face glows red.

"Sorry, can't be helped! I'm toppling over!" The next turn approaches and Pinto shoves Katy again, this time forcing her ontop of Parappa's lap, and taking her spot so that she couldn't go back to where she was.

"OOF…" was Parappa's only reply as he was squished.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Katy screamed so loud that glass on PJ's shades broke.

Pinto has known about Katy's crush on her older brother for as long as she can remember, she enjoyed the thought of them being together and would always try to set up moments for something to happen between them, much to Katy's dismay. And like with Katy helping Lammy, it didn't really go anywhere due to...complications in Katy's bravado.

"Oops. sorry!" She looks at Katy who has since fainted ontop of Parappa and groans in annoyance under her breath. _Darn it…_

"What are you three doing back there?" Papa rappa asks, legitimately concerned.

PJ turns and sees what happened then turns back to him "Seems like someone's making a move now that they're single."

"G-Get real! She just fell on me from the curves! I'm sure Katy would agree with me." Papa Rappa, PJ and Pinto all look at each other in awe of Parappa's ignorance.

"Yeah, sure she would. You got us there."

"Thank you for agreeing with me! I mean come on. Katy doesn't even feel that way about me. I swear you guys take anything into extreme proportions." after he said this the three of them forcibly slammed their heads forward into whatever object was in front of them, PJ removing his busted shades before doing so, and Papa Rappa causing the car horn to play out.

"The heck was that about?" Parappa just shrugs it off as he positions Katy in a position that isn't completely squishing him while still keeping her in a somewhat comfortable position.

Upon arriving back to the Rappa house, they all left the car to head inside, only for PJ to be called back by Parappa "Uh...little help with her?"

"That's on you dude."

"Seriously? She's pinning me down...I can't even move!"

"Fine I'll help." He manages to get her off and allow Parappa to leave the car "Man that was rather uncomfy…"

"Why didn't you just position her in a way to avoid that?"

"Didn't wanna be rude and let her be uncomfortable for my benefit."

"Such a gentleman, that'll win her over."

"You're seriously still on that?"

"I guess I like teasing you."

"It shows, come on lets get her onto the couch."

After a while both PJ and Parappa just chat to stave off the silence while they wait for Katy to wake back up.

"So how you feeling?"

"Hungry."

"Here." He hands Parappa a donut from typically, nowhere.

"Hah, thanks man."

"Anytime. On that topic, what'll you do now."

"Honestly? I don't know. I mean I've shaken off that side of me, but I have no clue what to do now. I'm worried I'll relapse back to that state, so I wanted help...but I don't exactly know what type of help…"

"I'm not exactly aware of what I need to do either. I can just offer eating and sleeping, but just that isn't exactly healthy either."

"Then why do you do it?"

"I'm a bear!"

"Teddy bear."

"Your point? All i'm getting at is that my body is basically built for this kind of lifestyle, the rest of you guys? Nope."

"Fair point." Parappa scratches his nose as he tries to find a way to word his next question without sparking a fire within PJ until he assumes he's got it."So why the sudden interest in my rebounding now that I'm single?"

PJ could feel Parappa tried to dance around the subject to avoid teasing, so he decided to play along and answer him without teasing him "I mean seeing as how it was the cause of you blocking yourself out as Mr Gloom and Doom and you're all like 'my muse is gone, the pain is strong'. Need I go on? Why wouldn't I wanna see you rebound and be all happy again."

"I see your point but why Katy?"

"If not her would you prefer Lammy, Ma-san or Paula?"

"Why specifically my friends?"

"Who knows, maybe cuz it's the biggest chances you have? Or the easiest? Maybe I'm just teasing ya? Or maybe I just don't see ya with any other gal aside from them? Who knows. All I know is you're not getting a real answer outta me."

"Wow, you hook up with Sweety and all of a sudden you're Love Doctor now then?" Parappa crosses his arms and huffs in annoyance "I don't get you man."

"I am not surprised."

"Yeah yeah…look I'm serious. Why them? It's kind of a lost cause to think of that cuz none of them like me that way."

PJ obviously knew otherwise. Katy flat out told him her's and Lammy's crush on him since way back when. Paula gained adoration for him as he grew to be a more and more stellar guy thanks to Sunny, as they were still dating, at first PJ thought it was that akin to gold digging until Paula flatout spilled her feelings to him one night asking for help in trying to win Parappa over in case something ever happened. Only to give up then and there realizing that it was wrong to think that way making PJ hate himself for even thinking wrongly of his friend. Ma-san was a complete and utter shock to him. He found out about hers to which he assumed began late compared to the other girls when Parappa was 18, until it later turned out it was sparked thanks Parappa's usual work as Milkcan's personal servant. Parappa was nice, to nice for his own good, He was to good a sport and an honest guy that he won her over. Though she would never admit it until later she found out what it was, which she could admit to PJ safely, knowing no one would ever catch on, believe PJ if he spilled the beans or buy it given her appearance.

"...And I don't like any em in that manner either."

"You sounded a bit uncertain there."

"Well I mean I enjoy the company and friendship i have with them and wouldn't want to ruin it with any of em with a relationship if I ever did feel that way, plus talking about relationships is rather painful in its own right recently cuz of…"

"Yeah I getcha…I'm sorry, but you know I worry for you man."

"For better or worse, I get what you mean." He then places his hand on his chin "I doubt this would happen, but if one them were to like me, I guess i'd give it some thought…I don't wanna be a terrible person by not even giving em a chance."

 _A Pity party is not what they're looking for…_ PJ sighs then adds on "What if...multiple were to like you that?"

"I'd feel awful. Like how I just recently was..."

"What."

"Well, yeah! In the end if that were the case i'd only be able to pick one, there is no happy way around it. And that guilt would kill me. Internally-" he then looks up at a framed photo of all eight of them together and then closes his eyes "And physically…"

 _Oh...that is the last answer any of them would've wanted to hear..._

"But luckily that won't be happening! Cuz neither of them see me in that light! So no need to worry over my emotional stability." He hops up onto his feet "I do appreciate you lookin' out for me man. I may not fully see eye to eye on your ideas with that, but I do get the point and am glad that you care enough to think of my benefit." He walks over to PJ "Wish I could say the same for yourself though!"

"What, binge eating and sleeping isn't taking care of oneself?"

"You said it yourself!"

"I also said I was a bear!"

"Sure, keep using that as an excuse!" They both laugh, but stop upon Katy waking up "Finally. Was running out of things to talk about."

"You? Without the gift of gab, I'm shocked."

"Can it PJ. Anyway you ok Katy? What was that all of a sudden back there?"

"Urk...what?..." Katy recalls what happened "Oh….O-OH! U-Um I was caught off guard by the shaking of the car and panicked that I'd probably fall out of the car! Then I hit my head on the roof of the car and knocked myself out!"

 _Hope he bought that…_

"Yikes! You ok?"

"Yeah I'll be fine, that was a good nap to take my mind off it!"

"If you say so, if anything starts to hurt again just ask, I think my dad has somethings to help with that."

"Pssh you worry to much! If anything it's I who should be worrying over you! How are YOU doing?"

"Me? Well currently...I dunno." He turns to PJ "As I told him, I shook off the depression, but worry it'll come back...potentially stronger…" he turns back to her "That's what I want to get help for...just...don't exactly know how…"

"Well luckily your two oldest friends have your back, because we know exactly what to do!"

"We do?" Katy elbows PJ as he says this "OOF...I mean we do!"

"Well for starters since it's still early in the morning and you just got out of the hospital, doctor's orders are to eat and sleep more so than usual temporarily!"

"Uh-huh?"

"So I already have a solution."

"I'm all ears." He says as he plays with said big ears.

"Well I figure for today, from now till midday, hang out with PJ and Matt, pal around, hang out, build up a hunger! Then just eat. Basically a guy hang out!"

"I think that'd work out nicely. Plus it'd help Matt know that you're fine! Dude practically lost it when he heard you had to go back to the hospital again. This would benefit the two of you."

"I'm up for it if that's the case."

"Ok so that's settled! And then from that point onwards, me and the girls will take you for a night around town!" the color melted off of PJ "Just hanging about till ya get exhausted enough to rest plentifully!"

"K but why with all the other girls?"

"Well it's not fair if only Matt and PJ get to have fun with you."

"I get you but you vastly outnumber me compared to being with other dudes!"

"Oh man up! Enjoy the girls night!"

"I am man enough!"

"Then?~"

"You bet i'm agreeing!" Parappa huffs up his ego.

"Great! It's settled! I'll go call the others now to inform them!" as Katy bolts out the room, PJ rushes next to Parappa and whispers in his ear once Katy is out of reach "You sure you're up to do that?"

"Of course I am! You think I can't handle myself either?"

"It's not that-" _It's exactly that_ "It's just…" _think of something_ "One guy, four gals…"

"Uh-huh?..."

"I just don't want anyone mistaking my good buddy Parappa the Rapper as Parappa the Player." _i'm such an idiot…_

He scoffs into a chuckle of disbelief "Ha, what was that? Like people would get that idea!"

"Eh you're free to prove me wrong I guess, cuz you know me, worried for your well being quite often."

"No need to baby me over it…"

 _I severely want to tell you what's up, but after you telling me all of THAT I can't without panic over the end result…_ "You're right." _But maybe it wouldn't hurt to see how this plays out. Maybe you overreacted?_ "I think you should go if the end result is beneficial!"

"Glad you came to your senses."

"Just avoid any uh...odd instances?"

"Odd how?"

"Just...odd for you alright? Look I gotta go fill Matt in on this whole thing, so you get ready to!"

"Alright alright alright. Now go. I'll get ready soon. Just give me a call to where you want me to meet you." With that said PJ leaves to get his part ready, as that happens Katy returns "Well that's that! I got them all informed and ready!" she hands him a bottle of water.

"You took your time though, I thought informing them for a night around some hotspots would go by quickly."

"Abooooooout that. I had to take a bit longer due to explaining some little add ons to Ma-san and Lammy."

"Whyyyyy?" he slowly takes a sip from the bottle awaiting the answer.

"Well that's cuz, starting tonight and here on out...you're bunking with MilkCan!" Parappa spits out the water like a sideways geyser.

"W-WHAT?"

"You heard me. You'll be our fourth room mate!"

"W-WHY?"

"You need help! And said help needs a woman's touch! Or a trio of them!"

"M-My dad would never agree to-"

"ALREADY GAVE MY OK SON!" Papa Rappa shouts from the room over.

"P-Pinto! You also need her ok!"

"My ok for what?" Pinto says as she walks in, appearing only to figure out what freaked her brother out this time.

"Well I was saying from this point onwards, your bro would be mine, Lammy's and Ma-san's new roomie! And he said we also needed your ok."

"Yeah and she wouldn't-"

"Sure!"

"R-REALLY?..."

"Great! It's settled!" She grabs the stunned rap dog by his arm "We need to get you ready!" And rushes off to his room.

"Take care!" Pinto waves as they run upstairs.

Once they enter his room Parappa immediately speaks up "I can't believe how fast my own family tossed me aside…"

"They didn't do that, I talked to your dad about it and he said it'd be for the best, plus weren't you planning on moving out to an apartment anyway?"

"For myself! Or even to PJ's flat! But I had to give it up cuz every time dad had to call me back seeing that PInto couldn't sleep if I wasn't at home...and yet here she just handed me over to you!"

"Yeah how bout that…" Katy knew why Pinto agreed instantaneously, but didn't pay much mind since it was used to her advantage. Plus she was just glad that she'd still be able to sleep even with Parappa not here, meaning she trusted her enough with him "But they didn't hand you over, they just want what's best for you! Why are you against this?"

What PJ had told him before he left was still floating around his head. _Did he know about this?_ Parappa pondered over this, but she was right, it was for his betterment, plus he'd get to move out like he'd want to. He chose to shrug off PJ's words "I dunno...just a bit panicky...you sure this is ok?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well for starters I'm a GUY bunking into a multi room apartment with three GIRLS. You sure Lammy and Ma-san are fine with this?"

"I am! I wouldn't be telling you this if they weren't would I?"

"You got me there…"

"Yep! I thought Lammy would take some convincing, but no she flat out was ok with it, if it was for your betterment! Ma-san also surprisingly took no time in giving the a-ok."

"...Alright I guess."

"Greaaat! It'll be fine! Trust me! Now we gotta pack your things...and change your outfit! We need a new look for the new life of yours!" She immediately starts tugging at his shirt prompting a blunt.

"What are you doing?..." Katy quickly realizes what she's doing and lets go, glowing red "Oh! Sorry I just had instinct took over like how we used to way back when...h-heh.."

"We were knuckle headed kids back then! That kinda stuff was just natural! Especially with how brotherly-sisterly we were! So we didn't mind those kinda things. Now? We're young adults...kinda awkward don't ya think?"

"H-Haha yep! Sorry guess an old habit reared its head in after seeing the situation!...sorry!"

"Nah it's fine, I getcha. I'll get changed quick so that you can help me pack. But I'm gonna need ya to step out for a bit in order for me to do that."

"R-Right right! Lemme get outta your hair!" She leaves the room and shuts the door, than sits on the floor and screams silently into her hands from sheer embarrassment. _STUPID STUPID STUPID...HOW DID I NOT CATCH MYSELF?_ She gets brought out of her self hating when she hears a bunch of noise emanating from Parappa's room.

"What the heck is he doing in there…?" after a couple of minutes of comical noise, the door opens. Parappa walks out wearing a shirt with black and white horizontal stripes. He also had on blue jeans, on the right leg was an orange P, on the left was an orange R. His shoes were now Orange like his beanie, they also had the frog stamp on the the sides! "How's the new look?"

"Your style is as fresh as your voice!"

"Thanks! Oh and I hope you don't mind, but while I was tossing clothes to and fro, I kinda packed my clothes away already on my own."

"Well then we're a partial ways done! Lemme help with the rest on my own at least."

"I refuse to let you pack my stuff on your own! It's my junk!"

"Your stuff isn't junk. Like...th-...oh wow…" She holds up an old framed picture of her and Parappa at the pond they found when they were kids, after they cleaned it, every so often when they had the time they would go there. But only them and PJ knew about it. However recently they hadn't been there in some time.

 _I should change that…_ "...this place is just a treasure trove of memories isn't it?"

"I guess you could call it that, but they pile up. Memory or not, I rather keep photos if the souvenirs start to mountain up on top of me. As much as I don't wanna get rid of em, I also enjoy not being squished."

"I could take it off your hands."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure I can find space for some of em."

"Then you can take what you want, anything to prevent me from having to throw them out!" With this said, they carry on with the packing and finish just as PJ call's him "That's my cue for their half of the 'Parappa Pity Party'!" He chuckles "Seriously though, thanks for this."

"Oh it's what any friend would do!...no...should do!" She winks at him "I'll ask your dad to help load these into my van to take to our place. You go have fun! And eat! You're still a growing boy!" She sticks her tongue out at him after she says the last part.

"Just because I didn't grow as tall as the rest of you did, doesn't mean I'm stuck at this height!"

"I know I'm just playin, now go! Don't keep em waiting!" Parappa simply nods and heads off. Not long after the sound of a car starting and driving off plays out. _I sure hope this does help him…_

Parappa sees Matt for the first time in a while. He's wearing a black and silver jacket over a red undershirt. The shirt having a basketball pictures stamped on the front. He wore torn white jeans and Black shoes. This was a radical change to say the least. The trio of dudes then go off to have their fun in their own way that reminisce of their younger teen days that they usually didn't get to have due to having the females outnumber them in votes over what they wanted to do. So to do something THEY wanted, was nice. They managed to to play against one another at basketball. It was a major disadvantage for Parappa as both Matt and PJ, who were the two tallest members of the friend group, were twice his size. Nevertheless Parappa held his own, but still ended up in third albeit not that far off from PJ with just a two point difference at 32-34. Both were floored by Matt with a whopping 66. "I keep telling you Matt, you could go pro! The second you get the ball it's not leaving your grasp. And no matter the distance you always land the shot!"

"It's kind of you to say, but I'm too soft to be a pro with this, it's still greatly encouraging to hear!"

"Parappa's right Matt, soft or not, it's something to consider. But I suggest to keep on practicing, Me and Parappa aren't worthy opponents." Matt simply laughs.

There next destination was supposed to be at record shop. Until Parappa and PJ noticed newcomers to the world of music, being harrassed by so called 'old pros'. And after a few to many taunts were tossed, Parappa and PJ stepped up. And not long after, Parappa the Rapper and DJ PJ were up to defend the kids from the childish adults.

"I dunno who you guys are, but if you're anything like the rest of this dump of a town. This should be over quick." The 'pros' just cackle as their leader says this causing PJ and Parappa to bare their teeth, but quickly calm down as they turn to the kids.

"You guys new to PaRappa town?" The kids nod with slight introversy to Parappa's question "Then you're gonna learn to love this town soon enough!" Matt walks up and grabs the kids on the shoulders to reassure them, then looks towards his buds. "Annihilate those fools." Both smirk to him as if to say. _You know it._ And turn around.

The music showdown was indeed over quickly as the brute of a 'pro' leader stated, but not the outcome they would have expected. PJ and Parappa had, as Matt asked, annihilated the tone deaf fools who were left running from the townspeople kicking them out due to having enough of their rude antics.

"Haha yeahhhh! They really were from out of town if they didn't realize their first mistake! Messing with two thirds of PaRappa Town's pride and joy. Parappa the Rapper and DJ PJ!" They bow as the audience that had gather from the music applaud, the children running up to them, thanking them for the help.

"You two were great! Better than great! You guys rocked it!"

"Thanks so much for helping us out with those jerks!"

"I wanna be like you guys when I grow up!"

After the children finished bombarding the duo with praise and questions, they ran back to the record shop with heavy glee. Leaving said duo to just laugh.

"Aw man that felt great!"

"Gotta admit, showing up idiots truly was a great feeling." PJ chuckles as he watches the children disappear inside the building, placing his shades back down.

"Man you two have not lost your touch!"

"I dunno Matt, I felt a little flat with my raps...but hey, still better than what they were dishin out."

"Dude you were fine! You have nothing to worry about!" He patted Parappa on the back to reassure him, to which he simply wagged his tail in agreement.

The rest of their time was spent at beard burger, on Parappa's request. "Man I sure worked up an appetite...sorry we couldn't do everything you two wanted…"

"You kidding? It was great enough as is!"

"What Matt said, seeing you having the motivation to rap again was enough to admit that this was great."

"Thanks you two." They head to the counter.

"Well if it isn't three of my favorite customers!"

"Sup Noodles" The trio say in unison.

"Parappa my man, haven't seen you in a year. Thought you moved away."

"Nah, just...let something get to me...when I shouldn't have. I'm fine now thanks to these guys."

"Well great to hear you're fine now. So what can I hook you guys up with? The usual?"

"You know it." the trio say in unison once again, causing colonel to just laugh "On it!"

As the the guys take their seats, they begin talking again to pass the wait time for their food. "So Parappa, PJ tells me the girls will be picking you up soon."

"Yeah after we eat actually."

"Is that so." He smirks "You sly dog you."

"W-What?"

"Four gorgeous gals all giving you their undivided attention till nightfall? Lotta guys would go to hell and back to be in the position you're in."

"S-Stop...it's just to help me fully get back on my feet…"

"Oh so you're reclining on them like the big man? I didn't take you for that kinda gu-" Matt is shut up by PJ grabbing his face "Ever since you started understanding Ma-san you've gained quite a love for crude jokes and I don't like it."

Matt plucks his face from his grasp "It's all in good fun! He knows I'm only kiddin! Right Para-" He sees Parappa holding his head up, upset at the whole thing "Ppa…" PJ grabs his head and turns him so that their facing each other "Fix this. Now."

"Yeesh I will! I'm sorry alright? I didn't mean no harm by it. Look Parappa I'm sorry for messing with you. I didn't think it'd get to you so badly.."

"I-Its fine...That kinda topic on its own will get my heart sinking, but if said topic also involves my friends then...I dunno I just feel off. Way off…" Parappa breathes a heavy sigh.

PJ leans in towards Matt to whisper in his ear what he had told Parappa and what Parappa had told him. "So he doesn-"

 _Shhh._

"Got it…Again I still apologize...had I know that I wouldn't have joked..."

"Nah that's my bad...But it's all good alright? At least I know you won't joke like that again." As they finish the apology, Noodles arrived with their food. "Here you guys are, if you need to make another other order, just talk to me."

"Thanks Noodles." Parappa says as he gives a thumbs up.

As they finish eating they wave towards Noodle's as they leave Beard Burger.

"You sure you didn't want me to help pay?"

"For the twentieth time yes Parappa, we wouldn't be helping you if we forced ya to pay."

"I know but-"

"Listen to PJ man! We're cool with this."

"Alright alright! Thanks then!" Parappa looks at his phone for the time "Well I better head off! The girls won't be to happy with me if I keep em waiting!"

"Take care man!" as Matt shouts this, both he and PJ wave goodbye as Parappa starts up his car and drives off.

"You sure he's gonna be alright PJ?"

"He had a great enough time with us. I'm sure the girls will manage to do the same."

"Yeah, but with what you told me. Will this be a good idea?"

"I gotta be honest Matt, I don't know...but I gotta have faith in him and them…come on let's head home." They both walk off wondering if Parappa will be alright.

Parappa stops by where he was told to meet the girls "Hey-o!" The milkcan girls all wore a black lace dress with a white plus symbol on the front around their stomachs. While Paula wore a black jacket over a violet dress with a yellow ribbon tied around her waist. All of them except for Lammy wore heels. Lammy tried to walk in heels, it didn't end well. So shoes were her alternative.

("Geez you took your time getting here!") Ma-san said, feigning her annoyed demeanour.

"M-Ma-san...h-he wasn't t-that late…"

"Yeah it was only five minutes off the time we asked, we barely waited any time!"

("You guys can't let me have any fun can you? I just wanted to mess with the guy a little!")

"Enough chatter you three, lets get in the car already!" Paula says as she goes inside taking shotgun "Hope you don't mind me taking the primary passenger seat!"

"Not at all, first come first served!"

"Thanks Parappa~ Now come on you three enough wasting time already!" The girls of MIlkCan just grumble at Paula's snark as they pile in the back "Alright now that you're all strapped in, where'd you plan to go first girls?"

"Well it was gonna be Club Fun to start it off till we found out the place had closed down for good a year ago...So we had to come up with things on the fly! So first off!"

The quintet drive off towards an a place with an open mike night, asking Parappa to take the first song, but Parappa denied. Defending kids was one thing to spark his mojo, but just singing for fun in front of others wasn't exactly something he felt he was capable of doing just yet. So then Paula gave him a proposition "We'll sing before you Parappa! All four of us, but only if you sing as well once the four of us finish!"

"Well if that's the case, I guess I don't really have a choice." Lammy and Ma-san sigh as they weren't exactly keen on their singing, but decided to go along with it if it meant he'd give it a go.

The evening was going by there smoothly once Katy and Paula sang their songs. Ma-san struggled at first, as singing was one thing, but singing in english was another. But she did well. Super even. At least, that's what Parappa and her friends told her, which was good enough for her. Even though the crowd also enjoyed her singing. Then it got to Lammy who couldn't muster up the ability to sing in front of others on her own. To a point she would've fainted on the spot, had Parappa not joined her on stage.

"I have a song in mind that should be easy to sing with me atleast right? It's sure to get you to move you millenium gal~" Lammy knew the song he meant, the song that jump started her band's career after their first live concert. She nods with a bashful smile as she grabs the microphone. And begins to sing an altered version of the song with him.

"No time for tears~"

" _The Goal is near!~"_

"I'm trying to shift."

" _To a higher gear!"_

"That's when I see, all of ya comin'!"

" _Just to prevent me from runnin'!"_

"Facin' the problems that'll get me."

" _I don't wanna spend no time see?"_

"I guess all the hype that I could handle"

" _Was taken care of yes, when I was little!"_

"But let me give you, a word of advice, it seems like a waste of time but it's nice~"

" _And in life, struggle will help ya later, no cuttin' corners!"_

The rest became a pseudo duo between them in Parappa's type of style.

"And I'm in a beat." " _Know that i'm in the beat!"_

"Cuz I got the moves!" " _You know I got them moves!"_

"I don't need no time to rest!" " _Don't got no time to rest!"_

"You know I got the groove!" " _Me and you!"_

"And I will give you my best! " _You always do!"_

"Running from East to West~" " _It's what we knew!"_

"Got the moves y'all!~" " _Gimme the moves y'all~"_

"Diggin' the groove y'all~" " _Not tryin' to fool y'all!"_

"Hippity hop y'all!" " _I'm hippity hoppin"_

"Tippity top y'all!" " _To the tippity top an"_

"Go on!" " _Gotta go on!"_

"Move on!" " _Move on!"_

"Get _on!"_

The final verse of the first half was sung in unison as the crowd was clapping in delight as the duo kept singing the remainder half.

The applause was massive. Nearly causing the poor lamb to suffer a combination of happiness, over anxiety, and the necessity to projectile vomit. Until Parappa grabbed her hand and opted that the two bow before they walk off stage.

"You two were amazing!"

("Yowza Lams you should sing more often!")

"T-Thanks g-guys~.."

"Lammy and you worried for nothing! See? I knew suggesting us to sing would be a good Idea, although I didn't expect Parappa to join you."

"I couldn't just leave her like that!"

"No fair~ Oh well you owe us a song another day. Right now Katy says we stayed past what we planned originally, so we gotta go."

"Yikes really? Sorry...man the same thing happened with me and the guys…"

"Don't worry Parappa! You looked like you enjoyed yourself and that's what matters!" Katy says pulling him in for a hug "Ooooh it makes me so happy to see you outta that slump!"

"Well that's thanks to you guys! I would've still been holed up in my room were it not for you all."

("Blegh enough with the sappy stories, we only got time for one place left to go so let's pick and go already!")

"I got just the place!" Katy whispers in Parappa's ear "Ohhh! Good idea! Let's go!"

After a short drive towards the park, Parappa and Katy lead the other girls towards a mini forest. Once walking through they reach an old sight for sore eyes. Unfortunately with a rather unwanted face.

"Come on men! If this is gonna be the 'Joe Chin's recreational pool center' it needs to be done by yesterday!"

"J-JOE?" Parappa shouts with disdain as he turns around to see who called. "Oh...well this is a lovely surprise now isn't it?"

 _To think...my day would end like this..._


	5. Get a kick outta this

Tensions were high as the group stared at the spoiled pompous oaf in front of them with massive spite.

"Parappa my dear friend! My has it been a while since we crossed path like this! What brings you here?"

 _Dear friend my ass…_ "I could ask you the same thing…"

"Well as I'm sure you probably overheard, you're staring at what will soon be 'Joe Chin's' All age invitational recreational pool center! The beauty of nature! The relaxation of water! All together labeled by me for the world to enjoy!"

"How did you even find this place?"

"I stumbled across here when I once read up that there was a massive pond out here! Now at first I thought it was nothing more than an errant myth! But low my surprise when I saw footprints embedded in the ground! Leading directly here! Whoever they belonged I must thank! They seemed to have come here quite often, but stopped not to long ago. Their pity. Now they can't take credit for all this business investing!"

 _You have GOT to be kidding me...he found this place from our old tracks here? How obnoxious do you have to be to look around every nook and cranny till THAT'S your saving grace?_ "I-I see…" Parappa began growling under his breath.

"My my what a face!...Do tell me what's gotten you so miffed my dear chum?" Katy speaks up in his place "This place doesn't belong to you! You can't just turn this place into a tourist trap! It's a secluded beauty of nature that should stay as such!..." Katy remembers how run down this place was before she and Parappa managed to clean and fix it all up "People would just ruin it…"

"Oh my word Parappa! You didn't tell me you had an entourage of fine young ladies accompanying you tonight!" Joe simply walks past Parappa towards the four girls behind him, completely ignoring what Katy told him "My yes, I recall who you four are! You were good old friends of the lovely Sunny Funny! And by extension him. On that topic. What happened to Sunny then Parappa old friend?"

"None of your business…" Parappa manages to growl out, not happy at how despite everything, he was still being a massive flirt to women who could care less about him. Which is every woman. Well...every woman except his supposed betrothed. Joe had a massive event take place to announce said engagement. And yet old habits seem to die hard for the oaf as he's still hitting on everything with a feminine anatomy.

"Pity, all that work, amounting to nothing." Parappa's patience had been obliterated in that instance as something within snapped. He would've body checked Joe then and there were it not for the girls speaking up, prompting him to wait out for them to see what would happen.

"You're quite the sleazeball Joe...Soon to be married. And still trying to get inside the pants of every other woman you see… It's sickening…" Paula says as she turns her back towards him.

"Ah i'm just a connoisseur of romance! I'm just being a gentleman of the night with adoration towards the lucky women, I'm not doing anything with them-"

("Yet…") Ma-sans fuse ignites violently.

"Feisty, I like that~ But no. That aside, my soon to be bride understands as she herself does the same!"

"An oaf of a woman who hits on every man they see? Making terrible business decisions and ruining the environment? Gee no wonder you hit it off so well with each other…" Katy was getting more and more aggravated with the man each passing sentence.

"There you go on again about the whole, ruining the environment speal. Look no one owns this land as you said, so therefore nothing is stopping me from investing in it for my benefit towards the town."

"Disrupting it you mean!.." Katy corrects him while her tail cracks on the ground like a whip.

"Ohohoh. This entire topic is touchy with you. Why is that? In fact, how do YOU all know of this place my dear azure beauty?"

"None of your business…"

"...Your name wouldn't happen to be Katy would it?"

"Why are you asking?"

"My oh my. Then you along with Parappa were the ones who were the previous patrons of this gorgeous secluded area. How devilishly selfish of the two of you keeping it towards yourselves only!" He then leans over and grabs Katy's hand "No one would ever bother the two of you here...alone in such a spot." He lifts her hand and kisses it, much to her disgust, then whispers in her ear "Just the two of you, Katy K. X Parappa R." Katy's eyes widen as she yanks her hand away from him "How do you…" The others look in their direction wondering what's being said to warrant Katy's expression.

"You left your mark on the other side of that lovely old oak over there a long while back it seems~ Fitting that it's old branches would bend in such a way. Almost looks like a heart doesn't it?" She simply shoves him away, as the other four see this, they pile in front of her to prevent him from getting close again.

"So THAT'S why you refuse to see this place become a lovely tourist spot! You rather not have everyone know! Well at least that's ONE of the main reasons."

"What's he on about?" Parappa says keep Joe at bay.

"N-Nothing…" she simply shuffles uncomfortably in place.

"Well unfortunately I can't comply. My mind's made up and I already hired the boys over here."

"Y-You all c-can't be serious w-with listening to h-his plans to t-turn this place into that h-horrible idea!..."

"Eh sorry miss, he says he'd pay a pretty penny for it, so it's in our contract to fulfill the request no matter how imbecilic. Them's the breaks" The head worker then looks at Joe while leaning on his jackhammer "Speaking of which when are we getting paid."

"In due time my good man! Just after you finish working!"

"You say that every project you force us to do. And it becomes less believable when you take your sweet time paying us back…" It was true, Joe constantly had business ideas, and they were always a flop. It was a miracle he had the money to do any of those things, let alone multiple times. Till it turns out he was asking for donations from the townspeople who he somehow managed to get to comply "But I do pay you, as you admit!"

"Feh…" The workers all grumble, unable to deny.

("So you're still a rip off artist…") Ma-san states, unfortunately a victim of his crappy wares.

"Look Joe we've had it, unless you keep your word and pay us the moment we finish the job, we ain't starting, or even working for you at all anymore."

"That's robbery!"

"What you're doing is robbery, and we've had enough part in it."

"Well if that's the case. I'll just find other people if worse comes to worst!" He then glances towards Parappa's direction "However…"

"What are you looking at us for?"

"You lot want me out of here correct?" They wasted no time in a group yes "Touchy. Well I don't, and I am adamant of making this place a pool center. So how about a friendly wager." Before Parappa agrees, Katy answers for him.

"What's your offer?"

"Oh nothing to difficult for my good old pal! You see those two giant long cinderblocks? Me and Parappa here will be chucking them across the pond. Whoever throws theirs the furthest wins. If Parappa here wins, I leave. And not just that, I'll leave Parappa town in general with my bride to be! If this town doesn't appreciate what I do for it, I'll mosey on to one that will." The group would've jumped for joy were it not for the ridiculous challenge to begin with.

"What if you win?..."

"Parappa here has to help me pay for it all! While you four each treat me to a date~" The four of them gagged on the spot.

"Joe that's hardly a fair challenge." The worker interrupted "You may be a moronic crook, but you still have a physique that surprisingly isn't for show...it's not exactly fair for the little guy."

"If you've seen what I've seen, you'd be eating your words, Parappa can hold his own quite well." _For better or for worse when against me...but not this time. He can't beat me here._

Parappa then shocks everyone by accepting "You're on."

"P-Parappa?"

"You can't!"

("Dude that's not a fair challenge, sure you can bust stuff but not exactly chuck something like that across a further distance than this brute.")

"O-Oh d-dear…"

"Kid ya sure? Don't stoop down to an idiots level...they'll make you end up worse than them…"

"Ah so you admit i'm better!"

"I admit that you're an imbecile with no salvation."

The girls huddle around Parappa "Are you sure this will be fine?"

"Trust me, if I could manage to hold up a crumbling building up, than this shouldn't be that bad!" Joe overhears this but keeps to himself as he walks off.

("You managed to hold it up for three minutes, that's not much of feat..")

"I could've managed to hold it up for as long as you all needed to take in order to get out." He wasn't wrong, they just wished he wasn't right "Look I'll pick it up, and throwing it shouldn't be that big of a problem! I know I can do it, I just gotta believe I can, with you all supporting me with your belief to!" the girls simply sigh and nod. "Great!" He turns to Joe "Ready when you are."

"Old sport, I'm always ready." He lifts up his cinder block rail and rears back before chucking it, landing it smack dab in the middle of the pond "And with that, it's safe to say that I won." The big and deep pond truly was a massive place, almost easily mistakable for a lake, that could swallow up much if gone to the center, which was about one yard from where they were standing! And still the block of stone was still big enough to protrude from the surface of the water.

"Well then old boy, you're up next." He walks off chuckling.

"Oh boy...I gotta believe…" As Parappa walks up to his block, Joe speaks up again, rolling up with a crane "Oh I'm afraid to mention that, that won't be the block you'll be using! Yours is in here and you have to break it out! Good luck!" He opens the crane arm and drops the pile of slag over Parappa's head. As he was about to roll away to avoid being crushed, His sensei's voice echoed in his head from an old memory in a near similar situation during training.

 _Parappa, when facing bad mannered and ill willed adversity. One must always, stand there ground. No matter what!_

"I-I don't think now a-applies Tamanegi-"

 _STAND. YOUR. GROUND!_

"B-But!"

"PARAPPA DON'T JUST STAND THERE, MOVE!" Paula shouts, to no avail as he doesn't budge. "PARAPPA!"

 _STAND, AND FIGHT!"_

"W-WAAAAAAAAAAH!" as the block nearly reaches him. Chop Chop's voice spouts out two words repeatedly in his head, to which is body reacts on instinct to it.

 _PUNCH CHOP CHOP PUNCH PUNCH PUNCH CHOP PUNCH PUNCH CHOP CHOP CHOP PUNCH!_ This repeated over in his head as his hands did the rest, digging out a hole in the middle of the rock, but it was still forcing itself down.

"T-THIS ISN'T WORKING!..."

"Parappa what's wrong? I thought you said you handled a collapsing building!" Joe says, dumbfounded that Parappa decided to stand under the rock and take it head on.

"JOE YOU'RE A PSYCHOPATH!" the workers head towards Joe to try and yank him out of the working vehicle "I didn't FORCE him to stand under it and try to take it on!"

The voice in Parappa's head just keeps at it as he just keeps Punching and Chopping at the rock, continuously breaking bits off, but not stopping it's downward progression. "OWOWOWOWOWWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW! THIS IS KILLER ON THE HANDS…"

The rock was now starting to push him down, Parappa was trying to block with his arms, or atleast hope Tamanegi sensei would say to do so So that he wouldn't sustain injuries, and dig himself out later. But neither happened and he just kept jabbing and slashing with his hands, till the rock engulfed him. The girls gasp in horror as the rock lands on the ground with a heavy thud.

"Oh...pity...why didn't he move from that spot? What kind of idiot just stands under it…"

"WHAT KIND OF IDIOT DROPS ONE ON A PERSON ANYWAY?!" the head worker says as he drags Joe out of his seat and tossing him on the ground. Before they can do anything else however, the ground soon starts to rumble around the giant rock that encased Parappa. And soon everyone hears him shout out three words from underneath the rock.

"PUNCH!" From the center of the rock, a cinder block slab is ejected out and into the air.

"JUMP!" Parappa leaps from the new hole and catches up to the block.

"KICK!" Parappa spins in the air before punting the block away. It flies across the pond, shattering Joe's block as it passes through it and lands on the far end of the other side of the pond, deeming Parappa the victor as he lands on the ground with his arms crossed and a huge grin spread across his face in success. Then he falls to his knees with his eyes wide and dilating with his wide smile now crooked from fear and shock, sweat pouring like a waterfall.

 _Tamanegi sensei you're teaching methods are insane...oh god i'm so glad that actually worked...I would've been crushed...owowow...my hands sure took quite the beating…_ "Y-Yay...I wonnnnn…" he says as he stays stuck in the position he's in.

"B-Bu-But that's not possible!"

"AAAAAHAHAHA! Can it Joe, you lost even with your unfair bullcrap of a challenge. Now get lost you maniac. You gotta keep your end of the bargain."

Joe gets up and dusts himself off angrily "FINE! See if I ever do anything good for this town again! I'll find some other town worth helpin-" He's shut up by ball of mud hitting him square in the face.

("SHUT UP AND GET LOST!") Ma-san says as she chucks another one. The other girls following her example soon after.

Joe was entirely encased in mud as he ran out of the forest, keeping his word. From this day on, Parappa town would no longer see him again.

As they girls were pelting Joe with mud, the workers head over to Parappa "Hey squirt? You ok?"

"D-Define ok…" they slap his back and laugh "Haaaa you sure showed that despicable oaf! No sane person would've accepted that challenge let alone do what you did! Who would've ever thought to beat a hole through that pile of concrete from the bottom straight to the top?"

"H-Hehe...yeah...no sane person…" _Tamanegi sensei's teachings are a blessing and a curse…_

"Thanks to you, we don't have to put up with that unbearable prick anymore!"

"Y-Yeah well not like anyone ever wanted to...just no one did anything cuz...who wanted to be around him?"

"Praise that fact, squirt!" With that they all get into their construction vehicles and drive off as well, leaving the five of them alone.

Katy dusts off and lifts Parappa and then stares at him with smile, to which he replies in kind with his own smile. Then she proceeds to slap him across the face, followed by Paula doing the same in the opposite direction, Lammy yanks his beanie down over his face and Ma-san punches him square in the gut.

"AUGH…" Parappa is back onto his knees in an instant "W-Why?"

"Don't you ever…"

("EVER.")

"Think of doing THAT stupid stunt again!"

"P-Please…"

"Believe me...I won't…" He manages to get back up, and covers his face as the girls approach him again. "Relax...we're not going to hit you again…" he warringly lowers his guard.

"Not counting that stupid outcome...thanks for getting Joe off our backs…"

"Yeah no kidding...finally, he gets out of our necks for good…"

("I never thought I'd see the day he'd finally take the hint!")

"Y-You're telling m-me...I f-feel bad for w-whatever t-town he migrates t-to though...n-now they gotta d-deal with him…"

"I'm sure they won't be as lenient as PaRappa town Lammy, no need to worry there!"

"You s-sure Katy? I mean look h-how long h-he's been at it h-here!"

"Ehhhh...frankly, I'm just glad he's gone…"

"Amen."

("Preach.")

Parappa cuts in "Well...I'm sorry...I uh...don't know what got over me to make me not move away...but I mean it technically turned out for the better?"

The girls say in unison as they roll their eyes "I guess…"

"And hey...now we can actually enjoy this place!"

"That is true...but thanks to Joe...it got all messy again…All that hard work years ago...only for it to happen again…"

"Guess i'll have to come here early someday to clean it all back up."

"By yourself?"

"Well yeah, you've already done enough Katy, plus I don't think you wanna see the place all dirtied up again."

"You're not wrong, but I gotta help clean it up to! That was what we promised back then! And so it counts even towards now!"

"I mean if you're really ok and up for it." She simply nods at his reply.

("Hey what are we? Invisible?")

"Yeah we wanna help out to!"

"I-If you don't m-mind…"

"Of course not! Right Parappa?"

"I won't say no to help if all of you are really up for this." They all nod and put their hands forward, to which Parappa does the same, topping it off "Then that's that! Joe may have have made of mess of this place again, but we'll just fix it back up! And with more of us now, it should go by quicker!" The launch their hands upwards.

"Agreed!...but man...what an unfortunate turn of events...I wanted you guys to see how amazing this place that me and Parappa found was, only to run into captain sleazy…"

"I think we already get the jist of how beautiful it can be!" Paula points to the water as the stars begin to reflect off it again, embedding them and the pond area all in a shiny, white light."

("Wow, a naturally made beauty, smack down right here in the middle of PaRappa Town. Who'd a thunk!")

"H-Hidden by the trees, as if to keep away anything that would ruin it." Lammy says, calming down thanks to the light of the area.

The group just stands there, gazing at the shining pond "I wanted to do so much more here, but I dunno what to do now. Sorry Parappa, guess this ended up a bust huh?..."

"You kidding? With Matt and PJ I had a great morning! Even got to show up some fools not to mess with this town! And Just flat out hang out and have fun. And here with you? You helped me ease back into singing again just for the fun and joy of it for me and others! And even got me to finally make Joe get lost for good. But...I guess it hasn't been exactly the same for you guys huh? I'm sorry…"

("Meh, Joe always soured the mood, not your fault dude.")

"Ma-san's right. No one could've predicted that we'd run into him." Lammy says as she puts a hand on his shoulder to reassure him."

"I guess you girls are right, doesn't mean I don't feel guilty over it. So…" He gets up, and since Lammy was the closest, grabs her hand that was placed on his shoulder and pulls her close "How about I dance with each of you? I don't really have anything else to offer, can't really sing since I didn't bring a mike or Boxy Boy, and you all really wanted to go to a club... So yeah...sorry for the crummy offer, I have two left feet and it's out of the blue, but-" He gets cut off "I'm ok with it. I think we all are."

"You bet I am." Katy just warmly replies.

"So you struggle with dancing, that won't be a problem when you dance with me Parappa, you know how great I am when it comes to dancing~ It'll surely rub off!" Paula announces proudly.

("Here's hoping he doesn't get your your ego in addition to his! That'd be to much to handle.") Ma-san says before laughing heavily at the thought.

"Well I'm just glad my suggestion was enough! And hey, we already have the dancing spotlights!" He chuckles as he waves his arm around in the bright white light, and then they begin their dance. And they just kept on dancing under the moonlight and starlight mix around the pool, a short break here and there for Parappa to relax his hands, but he was back at it again and again, as to continuously make it up to them. And before they knew it, they had danced the rest of the night away.

"Wow...time sure does fly when you're enjoying yourself doesn't it?" Parappa looks towards the girls "Well come on, let's head back to my car so I can drop you all off."

Upon arriving and entering the car, Parappa sighs and sinks into his seat.

"What's wrong Parappa? I thought you were doing great!..."

"Oh no no I am!... That's not it… It's Joe… I'm happy he's out of our hair, but at the same time. I always pictured the guy as a possible potential friend if he just…"

"Wasn't a womanizer?"

"Wasn't destructive?"

("Wasn't a rip off artist?")

"W-Wasn't always i-ignoring the r-reality of h-how things w-work?" After they all say their peace, Parappa simple sinks deeper into his seat "Exactly...but no...it's like the guy progressively got worse...after I began dating Sunny he seemed like a good sport about it...then he started up his business line's...and then...hoo boy...It was at that point I knew friendship was impossible, but still. I can't help but feel bad for the guy you know? I mean yeah he's getting married, but to basically a female version of himself! They won't survive for long and that's kind of upsetting that I was potentially the cause of that!"

("Joe brought that upon himself, there's learning and then there's arrogance. Take your pick on which you believe Joe decided to stick with. What happens to him was the cause of his own actions, He may be a dense moron, but he wasn't dense enough to not know that this would've happened to him eventually.")

"You're right, I shouldn't feel guilty in that case if this is the outcome he knew he'd get." He turns to face Ma-san ("Thank you for the realization.") He gives a goofy grin before turning back around and starting the car.

("D-Didn't need to thank me like that over common sense...dumb mutt.") she says barely over a whisper and with a quick _hmph_ as she points her nose in the air, embarrassed over him choosing to speak in her native tongue in order to say thanks.

The ride to Paula's apartment wasn't to long nor hard to get to as the streets were surprisingly empty. Was there something going on or was it just that late? They didn't know, nor pay much mind to it.

"Thanks for the lift Parappa, and thanks for the invite Katy!" Katy waves with a smile while saying "No problem." As Parappa simply nods, keeping his goofy smile for abit longer before speaking up "I should be the one thanking you! If it weren't for your idea. I probably wouldn't have sung at all aside from that moment earlier today with PJ. But I don't entirely count that since the battle lasted under a minute. So this was the real deal with help over there!"

Paula snickers "You're welcome, but you gotta tell me all about that. Also don't forget, you owe me a song with the two of us as the duo!" She sticks her tongue out at him before closing her door and walking off. After she disappears inside the building, Parappa speaks up again "Any of you gals wanna take the main passenger seat now that's it free again?"

Ma-san and Katy wasted no time in answering him "Lammy would love to!" to which she replies upon hearing her name "W-Wait wha-"

"Lammy you wanna do that then?"

"A-Ah...well...s-since you're offering...I guess I w-will…" she heads on over to the seat right next to him "T-Thanks~"

"No problem!" He finally resumes driving "So where am I dropping you three off at?"

"Dropping off?"

"Yeah?...Katy I mean where's your apartment that the three of you stay-"

"I heard what you meant, what I mean is, did you forget already?"

"Forget wha-" You could literally hear the gears in his head spinning, until he recalled what she meant "Oh...right...I'm now your guy's new roomie!...h-hah slipped my mind…"

"O-Oh right! I'd forgotten that also..."

("Not gonna lie, so did I with what happened today.")

"Yeesh, Parappa you at least have an excuse, but Lammy and Ma-san? Girls this was something I thought I made sure you'd remember and be ready for!"

"I-I'm sorry, m-my mind was on o-other things after the open m-mike night…"

("And Joe soured my mood to the point that slamming his face into the concrete was all I had in mind.")

"Oh boy, well no worries! Doesn't really affect us much! You'll still move in nice and easy! Now to get to your new apartment you just gotta take this route and then, make a left at the second turn signal." After a surprisingly long drive, the reach the street where the place is located, but Parappa had something on his mind, he knew the reason for them choosing to be roomies, but never really explained the process. "So how was it for you three when you decided to be roommates?"

"Well I mean for me it was easy, my parents at first didn't want me to go, but after a bit of convincing and showing how this would be the best for me. They let me go. I love my parents and all, and they got better ever since meeting your family Parappa, but at the same time I just wanted to, you know leave. I wanted to spread my wings I guess. A caged bird never sings and that just wasn't my lifestyle." _I wanted to leave it all behind and start anew, but that was easier said than done._ "So it was at that point I decided, what if MilkCan lived together? Would make many things a hell of a lot easier. Plus Lammy already was in her own apartment, so getting her to agree wasn't gonna be to hard. At least that's what I thought at first. This kinda lifestyle takes quite the commitment. But we were MilkCan, we didn't cut any corners and well. The rest is history."

"Well b-basically what Katy said. I mean yeah I was living on my own, but that was cuz of family...They w-were always busy t-to a point of never really b-being there. So I f-figured they wouldn't mind me having a place to m-my own. They kinda d-did but eventually just l-let me be. When Katy d-decided for me to move in with h-her. That's when things g-got rough. M-My parents did n-not see eye to eye on t-that plan...To a point I almost had a f-falling out with them...l-lucky me…,but in the e-end they gave in on t-that idea as well. And well, h-here I am!" _The whole situations was one stress inducing case I only wish I could've avoided, but it went well for me regardless…I guess._

("For me, I was informed on the plan and was gonna tell my father about as soon as possible. I wasn't gonna take no for an answer, but he just answered yes on the getgo. And I just got so mad that I literally exploded on the spot. I got mad as to why he was just, ok with letting me go. I thought he didn't care what I would do with my life now that I was an adult, but...he explained that he felt it was a necessary thing that just had to happen eventually. He knew that I would just move away one day and leave him alone. And rather than worry on the loneliness, he panicked over my condition on the matter. Then he said he was relieved when I was moving out to bunk with friends. Saying that, if that was the case, he'd have no reason to worry. And that the thought alone left him at ease with no reason to feel lonely. Then he spouted so much gushy crap and…") A single tear drops from her eye recalling her father's sappy words, but she immediately wipes it away, regaining her bravado ("Well the rest is history! End result is I moved in with them! But that should be obvious.") _I just wish my dad didn't treat me like a baby even to this day, but I can't really BLAME him due to me being the only bit of family he had left! I wonder how my old man is doing now?..._

"Sounds like you three had a lot to go through."

"It was, but we all remembered one thing!" As Katy said this, the three of them said in harmony "No cuttin' corners!"

Parappa laughs "To think my dad's old catchphrase would be the basis you three go by even to this day!"

"Well it helped even now!" _Although to be fair, my mom and dad do not know that I'll be inviting you to bunk with us, but i'm sure they'd be fine about it knowing that it's you. ….or would they?_

"I-It really did!" _My parents threw a fit with the whole bunking idea, but if they knew a boy would be joining us they'd be flat out livid…"_

("There's some merit to it! At least from what I witness anyways.") _I wonder if pops would be eating his words if he ever found out a boy was one of said friends I'd be eventually bunking with? I don't peg him for the type to get upset at it, but he's already surprised me once…_

The girls all sigh, leaving Parappa confused "Uh...something up?..."

"Nah it's nothing, at least for me it isn't. How about you girls?"

"I-I'm good!"

("I've got nothing to hide, i'm just tired.")

"Yeah no kidding...I'm exhausted…" Parappa says as his grip on the wheel tightens as he parks outside their place..

"I'd be surprised if you weren't! After what you've been through! How are your hands?"

"In pain, but i'll be fine."

"Lemme see."

"Um, alright…" he lets go of the steering wheel and turns around.

"HOLY-... PARAPPA! HOW HARD WERE YOU HITTING THAT ROCK?"

"Uh…" _oh you know, with enough force as kilimanjaro's eruptions, at least that's what Chop Chop says when he taught me._ "N-Not that hard…"

("The swelling, bruises and cuts say otherwise man.")

"I-It's fine! I'm fine!"

"Dude your hands bled all over the steering wheel, that's not fine."

"W-WHAT?" He turns to see she's right, while they were driving Parappa's hands had begun to bleed "Aw man that takes forever to clean! Damn...i'm gonna be here for hours trying to get that off. Well at least they didn't start bleeding as I was dancing with you guys..."

"You're worried about the steering wheel or the dances rather than your own HANDS?"

"Come on a-at least get em b-bandaged...I think he have some gauze bandages inside…" Lammy leaves the car, then heads over to Parappa's door to drag him inside "H-Hey! I don't need bandag- OWOWOWOW DON'T SQUEEZE MY HANDS!"

"That prove my point enough for you?"

"Ok maybe I do need it just a litt- OWOWOWOW OK YES I NEED THE HELP!..." Lammy disappears with Parappa inside while Ma-san and Katy Lock up and close the car "Wait for us!"

After a bit of struggling, Lammy finishes up disinfecting and bandaging up his hands "That should do it! Not only that, but...I t-think the look fits y-your style nicely…"

"Lammy has a point! Maybe you should consider keeping em after your hands heal!"

"Well this is outta the blue…" He looks at his mummified hands and fingers "You do have a point...I guess i'll consider it, anywho thank a bunch Lammy."

"N-No problem!"

("I think they make you look like a dork, but an endearing one.")

"Well you're not wrong there!" Parappa couldn't help but burst out laughing "People think I look good in anything, just saying it fits well with my 'cuteness'. But cuteness isn't what I'm trying to go for. At least not fully."

("I wouldn't try changing it, it's who you are. Don't let the others get you man.")

"Hm...you got a point there now that I think about it. Guess I'll just keep at it if it's what I do best!"

("You are such a mutt.") She laughs as she heads off to her room.

"Hey where will I be sleeping?"

"Oh! That room right there! And here are you keys!" she hands him his car keys, but quickly remembers that in her own van, his luggage is still packaged away. Before she can bring that up, exhaustion finally shows its hold on her as she yawns, infecting the room "Oh man... i'm sorry Parappa. I kinda forgot to take your stuff out of my van, and I'm too exhausted now to help unload your stuff, can we do it tomorrow? You still have a bed and sheets and all the basics."

"That's good enough for me! I'm beat as well so sure, we'll save it for tomorrow. Good night you two!"

"N-Night.~"

"Sweet Dreams man! But wait! Won't your dad need the car?"

"He has his own, he got a second one after the noodle fiasco. Good thing to huh?"

"Very! Good to know!"

"Now, g'night!"

Parappa enters his room and shuts the door, it was slightly decorated, showing that this room was possibly used as a hangout for the three of them. Especially seeing that it had its own TV like the living room did, but maybe each room has its own TV already? Seems like quite a money sink, but he'd be sure to help out, four sources of income was sure to keep this place in a very stable motion "So this is a new start for me huh?" He hops onto the bed "Man what kind of experience will this end up being I wonder." He removes his shirt, rolls it into a ball and tosses it to the side, then he takes off his beanie and stares at it before putting it on the counter to his side "Heh...I'm finally starting to feel better. Sunny I hope you're at least happy, but I can't help but wonder if you've already moved on. And I wonder if I should to..." He yawns, as he starts fading into dreamland "Can I even move on?...I don't really have any options when it comes to girls around here that would see me in the same light as you did, or if I would even see them in that light to begin with for that manner..." His eyes can barely keep open as he remembers what PJ was teasing him with earlier "Or do I?..." The four girls that helped him tonight reappear in his mind "N-No...that's stupid...I don't…" He soon feel himself get more exhausted all of a sudden, unknown to him that it's his heartbeat "Do I though? Nah...it can't be that…but is it them?" He can't stay awake any longer "None of them see me that way…" He closes his eyes "But it...would be nice...if one of them did…" He finally drifts into sleep.

Dreams are usually meant to be one's escape into a slightly more relaxed state of mind, unless they become a nightmare in which case they're the exact opposite, but what if it's neither? How does the mind handle such a strange dream?

"Augh...my head...huh...the floor? I was in a bed just a second ago...did I fall off?" He looks around "Hey where's the bed? Actually scratch that! Where's anything?" He starts searching the near endless hall of a room "What is this? Am I asleep?..." He pinches himself "Ow!...now did I feel that or did I dream I felt that?...Man this is confusing…" after a bit, he begins to run rather than walk, and eventually he comes across a door "Finally! In we go." As he enters the room, the door behind him disappears "Well, guess that's that...hey...is this a bathroom? Kinda...missing everything except the the sink and mirror…" he walks towards the sink and begins to wash his face "This also feels real…" He looks at the mirror "At least I can trust you!"

 _Are you sure?_

"Of course I-...wait wait waitwaitwait! D-Did you just talk back?"

 _Of course I did, what do you think I am?_

"A mirror!"

 _I ain't nobody's mere reflection!_

"But...then...who are you?"

 _Who are you?_

"I asked...gah...fine. I'm Parappa Rappa, or as the town calls me Parappa the Rapper!"

 _You're lying._

"No I'm not!"

 _You are, because I'm Parappa Rappa….aren't I?_

"I...don't know...aren't you my reflection?..."

 _I don't feel like you...I don't feel anything at all...well that's a bit of a lie…. I feel somethings..._

"Like?..."

 _Cold, Sad and sorry._

"Sorry?..."

 _Yeah...I'm sorry…_

"Huh? Sorry for what though?"

 _This…_

His reflection punches the mirror, shattering it from his side, and the entire room Parappa was in shattered as well. And with nothing below, Parappa plummeted "WHAAAAAAA. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" as he kept falling endlessly, he eventually saw something. It was the floor of the room he just fell out of. And immediately as he saw it, he made impact.

"Augh...my head...huh...the floor? I was in a be-...wait...I just...went through this...but...now...I'm at my house?...A-Am I awake now?..." he walks to where his room was, but something was off, his room was there. It just wasn't his room "This is...a storage closet...what's going on…" He closes the door and resumes exploring what he thought was his house. "Where's my room? Dad couldn't have gotten rid of my stuff that quickly...if at all...he wouldn't have wanted to do anything...ugh...my head hurts...I'm...gonna try and watch tv…" He uses the remote, but nothing happens "Of course…" he walks up to turn it on manually and as he does it flares a white light in his face. And immediately he gets sucked in "NOOOO!" and just like that, the tv turns off with him inside.

Parappa's eyes open as he's on his new bed "...no...I refuse to move…I'll just close my eyes." Parappa had strange dreams only rarely, and when he did, it was usually before something big happened. Like when he first met PJ, Katy, Matt, Paula and MilkCan. When he lost his mother, when he first fell in love...when his love left him. These are just to name a few. Sometimes he didn't know how long the dreams would last so when he had enough, he would try to just wait it out. Unbeknownst to him that he was actually awake now.

The door to his room suddenly opens "Maaaaan even though it's right across my room. I still never get used to waking up even earlier for a MilkCan group planning…" The voice belonged to a groggy Lammy as she plopped onto the bed, causing Parappa to panic. _D-Did she forget i'm here?...Oh wait...this is has got to be the dream still._

"Katyyyyy...wake up...you're the one who asks for these meetings in the morning...It's not fair that you get extra minutes of shut eye and I don't...and why does Ma-san get to take her time…" She elbows Parappa mistaking him for Katy. _This isn't a dream...uh oh…_

"Katyyyyy…."

"Whaaaaaat…" Katy says as she opens the door to the room, yawning and rubbing her eyes as she enters.

"W-Wha?...But...if you're there...then who's…"

 _Please don't lift the sheets._

Lammy lifts the sheets, revealing him like a deer caught in the headlights. "U-Uh...morning!" Parappa looks at the two, only to realize their modesty is currently nonexistent. Lammy wearing just a lone shirt, labelled 'Fresh Milk' over her underwear as a nightgown. Katy was just flat out in her underwear and bra. The latter of which was hastily put on to answer Lammy's call as it was poorly worn due to her being half asleep at the time. The heat from all three of their faces certainly turned the room into an oven as Lammy quickly got up and held the shirt down with one arm to try to cover something, while also using her other arm to cover the ridiculous words on the shirt. She quickly glances over to Katy while whimpering out "H-Help!..." Katy however, is overwhelmed with many emotions to the point that she simply bolts out of the room and slams it shut, leaving the poor lamb in the room with Parappa. She'd leave to were it not for her own overflowing mix of emotions keeping her stuck in place. Parappa grabs his beanie and forces it over his eyes in an attempt to try and lower the awkward and embarrassing air, to no avail.

"M-Man this is quite a near similar experience to something y-years ago ain't it huh?..." Parappa says trying to fix the situation, but he gets no reply "I-I'm not seeing anything at all! S-So um...you're able to leave freely!...please!..." he hears no footsteps, nor the door opening or closing "I-I'm-" His apology gets interrupted by Lammy's

"I'M S-SO SORRY!...I F-FORGOT YOU WERE HERE! W-WE USUALLY USED THIS R-ROOM AS A M-MEETING ONE B-BEFORE WE STARTED OUR DAILY R-ROUTINES A-AND-"

"L-Lammy it's fine it's fine!" Parappa tries to calm her down, but she just keeps up apologizing to a point it's ends up devolving into whimpering and mumbling. He knew this meant she would soon begin to cry on the spot, and he had to think quick to prevent that.

 _Come on come on...what do I say in a situation like this? Is there even anything to say?_ "Um, look! It's fine! I knew that this was something everyone would have to fully get used to! And for that I'm sorry I had to be in a condition to force this radical change in your guys lifestyle…" silence becomes his reply once again. _Gah...wrong thing…_

Lammy surprised him by speaking up "You don't have to apologize for that…" she removes the beanie from his head "H-H-Hey wait!" He tries to cover his eyes with his hands "Parappa stop...this time it's my own fault that this happened...plus Katy can't get mad since this was her own idea to begin with."

"I mean that may be true, but it's not your fault for being so used to living amongst one another for a while now. I kinda threw that off by joining an all girl apartment!"

"Yeah, planning wasn't the best. But the end result is still the same as what she...no...what we all wanted. Isn't it?" She moves Parappa's hands "You said you were feeling better...w-was that a lie?..."

"No...not really…I did mean all that I said."

"And h-how was your sleep?..."

"Fine! Best i've had since the whole you know what situation." _Aside from the weird dreams...but that's another story._ "And I really do have all you guys to thank for that!" He grins awkwardly "It's so strange, seeing myself in the position that I usually help all of you guys out of."

"No kidding...it was so off p-putting seeing you so...not happy. So...defeated. Begging for help. Not like the guy I knew s-starting up five years ago that's for sure."

"Hehe...yeah...luckily I'm kicking that side of me to the curb!"

"Good, I d-don't think any of us want y-you to be that way ever again."

"With you guys by my side, that won't be a problem to worry about!" He smiles in such a bright manner that it reflect the morning light, it stung the eyes to look at for an extended amount of time, so she shuts and rubs her eyes, but soon takes into account that she stopped covering herself.

"E-Eep...I'm uh...s-sorry for the shirt by the way...it's not usually something i'd wear…Ma-san just joked about it one day because of the band name and how we were all girls and...well Katy found it both funny AND fitting, so much so that she got one for each of us...I mean I didn't find it funny and certainly wasn't gonna wear this out in public...b-but I also wasn't going to avoid wearing something s-she got for the band as a whole...And well...i-it is comfortable to sleep in...So...here we are...h-heh."

"I mean you don't really need to explain your reasoning for that, if it's comfy, then wear it for what you wanna! It's not really a style issue, but I see the reasons for not wanting to wear it publically." He released a forced, nervous chuckle "But I'm not really one for style no matter what people tell me. I mean I've been wearing that beanie since for as long as I can remember. Everyone's style is always changing but me? Nah."

"I mean it fits you at least, if that's something to go by. And hey you probably have sentimental reasons for keeping it. That's perfectly fine to…"

"Well yeah...See it was given to me by my mom, but at the same time she also said to not get overly attached and try to grow out of. Or at the very least update to a new beanie… And after her passing I guess I decided to overlook that and just keep it? It's weird."

She hands him his beanie back "It isn't weird if that's what you were comfortable with or used to. It's the style of Parappa."

"Maybe not, but that Parappa also got himself sent to the hospital twice, leaving his friends to worry over him. This Parappa needs to think better, act better, so that he doesn't do that again. A fresh start, know what I mean?" He stands on the bed and places the beanie on her head "W-Wait! I-Isn't it your last one?"

"It is. But hey, it looks good on you to. Plus, consider it as thanks for all this here." He smiles before having to blow the hair out of his face "Although I still will have to get a new one to keep this mess of a mane in check!" He simply laughs, unaware of Lammy's red face and her own goofy yet bashful grin, as she straightens the beanie on her head.

"I guess I should get used to seeing the three of you like this in the morning or at night then huh?"

"Oh u-um, i'll just have to make sure I don't-"

"No it's fine, I rather not force you guys to change out of a comfortable lifestyle routine. Besides you guys might end up seeing _me_ in a few embarrassing moments from time to time as well! So it's best to get used to it and not have it affect what good would the becoming roommates idea be then?" She releases a small giggle "You're right. Oh boy sorry if I panic a lot during those moments like t-today…"

"You seem calm and composed now though, I'm sure you'll be fine! The coolest one sure has a composure to match!" He clenches his hand into a fist and fist bumps the air as he says this.

"I-I'm not that cool…"

"You kidding? You do things that make what I do look like childsplay. And when you get a guitar in hand, man oh man is that coolness skyrocketed to the heavens! I can't even compare."

"Ok ok you've made your point..~" She bashfully scratches her head.

"You know it's funny…"

"W-What is?"

"Growing up I only really considered PJ and Katy my best friends. Matt and Paula were odd cases as they were really best friends of my best friends, so I guess they became mine that way? But with you and Ma-san, I always felt like you two were out of my league...and I was just lucky to be your friend at all. But no you're both just as down to earth as you are amazing." He extends his hand "Consider me a best friend to?"

"O-Oh I uh…" _H-He thought that_ _ **I**_ _was out of_ _ **HIS**_ _league?_ "Yeah." She grabs his hand and shakes it "Best friends~" Parappa couldn't contain his happiness as his tail went into a flurry, he then embraced her in a hug much to her surprise.

"E-Eep!" _Please please please tell me this is a dream...wait...actually don't!...please let this be real!_ "Aw y-you…~" she struggles to get her arms around him, but eventually manages to do so. _It is real... best day ever~..._

To say Parappa was overjoyed would not be enough to describe his current happiness. _So THIS is the reason for the dreams this time!_ However the joy was cut short when they hear a 'click'. They look over to the source of the sound, only to see Ma-san at the doorway with her phone.

("This is totally gonna come in handy for me in the future!") Ma-san begins laughing to herself at her newly acquired blackmail. The two sharing the moment, immediately break the hug and try to clear their names.

"I-It's not what you think!"

"W-We were just h-hugging, as friends d-do!"

("Ah yes, shirtless mutt and skimpy lamb in a nice embrace. Your hands through his hair while wearing his hat. While he nuzzles into your chest. That SOME friendly activity!") Ma-san only laughs harder, leaving the two speechless and red.

 _This is gonna be-_ Parappa glances over to Lammy with a look of apology.

 _One hell of a day..._ Lammy does the exact same.

At the Rappa's household, PJ rings their doorbell, only to be answered by Papa Rappa.

"Why good morning PJ!"

"Morning Mr. Rappa, how's Parappa doing? Came to see if he was finally starting to get better."

"Oh didn't you hear? He moved out last night."

"That's great to hear, amazing that Pinto let him be- wait come again."

"Yeah he no longer lives here."

"Where is he?"

"Oh didn't Katy tell you? He moved in with her and her band!"

"I see...well thank you, i'll be sure to go visit him there."

"Oh and would you mind taking this to him!" He hands PJ a powered off Boxy Boy "Sure…"

"Alrighty, thanks a bunch PJ!" He re enters his house and closes the door, with PJ facepalming afterwards "I told him to avoid anything that was odd to him-...of course he wouldn't find that odd...Gah…" And with that PJ ran off.

 _You better be alright..._


	6. Love To Get Her

The quartet of roommates sit in their living room with three of them trying to keep their gaze away from one another.

("Geez what the heck did I miss? I swear all the juicy stuff happens when I'm snoozin!") Ma-san crosses her arms and huffs in annoyance.

"Nothing happened!...Just kinda forgot I invited Parappa to live here with us and...well…"

("It can't be as bad as him catching Lammy with literally just a shirt covering her bod…")

"Um…" she explains

("Pfffttt...ok. Yeah I wish I could've taken a picture of that as well!")

"Glad to see him catching me in my underwear is worthy blackmail for you…"

("Calm your fur, I'm not gonna do anything with the photo, it'd be bad for the band if it got out. I'm just keeping it cuz I find it sweet. But you know me, had to make it funny somehow.")

"I d-don't think I'll ever b-be used to your sense of humor Ma-san."

("I take that as a compliment. My humor takes an acquired taste")

"Anyway, moving on from that. As I said I just forgot was all, being half asleep and all that. The room I happened to give him was our meet up room. I'll just have to adjust I guess."

"Like I told Lammy, you guys don't have to adjust, we just gotta get used to it. What good would this whole thing be if we didn't right?"

"Um...I dunno…"

"I think he's right." Both Katy and Ma-san look at Lammy, astounded her not only being the first to be on board with it, but also agree so calmly.

"Well...if you are fine with it."

("I dunno, I think it's an excuse to catch you two in your underwear again. This is why I sleep in pajamas!") Ma-san simply reclines back into the couch with her tongue sticking out.

"That's not true! And even if it was, it'd be ok! Me and Katy have no real reason to worry over it!" He soon recalls Katy who accidentally tried taking his shirt off yesterday "Actually thinking about it. I used the excuse of us being adults as to why we should worry, but really seeing as how close we were, and still are, while growing and not mind when it happened then, it should be any different now! So that should also apply to you two as well! It even happened yesterday when Katy almost remo-" Katy wraps her arm around his mouth" AHAHAHAHA, OH BOY WHAT A JOKER~" Her grip squeezes tighter, nearly crushing his head "But yessss...I agree I guess. Not sure how you can be so ok with it."

Parappa plucks himself free and gasps for air "Ack...Well the answer to that is simple. I took into account things that came to mind a week ago. And seeing as we kinda did the same thing when we were young as I already brought up, I really shouldn't have judged even as adults. Cuz again. You're like a sister to me!"

Ma-san flinched, as if she heard something shatter into pieces, knowing exactly what it was, while Lammy just stared, completely lost.

"But I mean it'd still be a tad hard getting used to fully cuz...you're not…" Parappa struggles to finish.

"Not what?"

"You know..a...um…a g-girl…"

"What...what do you mean by that?" Katy huffed, offended by his poor choice of words.

("Cool it, familyzoned, he's trying to say he views you as a woman and not a girl anymore. Take the compliment.") Ma-san whispers into her ear as she sees her getting angry, changing her expression from anger to pure embarrassment afterwards "W-Wha-"

("Huh, saying that aloud kinda makes it seem like he hasn't fully familyzoned you huh?") Katy simply tosses Ma-san back onto the couch.

"Fine! I agree, seeing as Lammy agrees!"

("I have no horse in this race so I guess I agree.")

"Then it's unanimous, Lammy I hope you don't regret starting this!"

"Hey it's not like I forced you t-two…I just said that I thought he was right is all."

"And that's all that you needed to say to convince your bandmates! You'll be the denominating factor for when this vicious boy takes advantage of usssssss." She says while breaking out into laughter causing Lammy to simply roll her eyes.

"Me, vicious? Only on the mike maybe! But great to see that potential awkward hurdle is out of the way!"

Before they could all laugh at what Parappa said, they hear a knock at the door.

"Wha? Who could that be…" Katy walks up towards to the door "Who is it?"

"Me." the monotone voice gave away that it was PJ, but Katy didn't really enjoy his reply so decided to play around "Meee? I dunno anyone named that."

"We are not starting this right now…"

"Starting what me?~"

"Ugh...it's PJ…" she opens the door with a cheeky smile plastered on her face "Now was that so hard?"

PJ simply groans "No…"

"Atta boy."

"Look I came over because I heard Parappa was here."

"Yeah, there's our new roomie right now." she points to the dog in question, who waves at him.

"Yo PJ! Morning man, what brings you here?" PJ glances towards Parappa, then back to Katy "Mind if I speak with you privately for abit?"

"Uh…sure?" Katy follows him out and closes the door "Whatcha need?"

"Why is he here?"

"Cuz he lives here now?"

"I know, that's what i'm referring to."

"Cuz I invited him to live here now?"

"Why…"

"What do you mean why? He needed help!"

"And this helps how?"

"A girl brought him into such a state, figures girls would be able to bring him out!"

"I fail to see your logic."

"Geeeeez...why? What are you jealous he couldn't move in with you or something?"

"Don't be a fool...it's not that, it's just I don't think this is a good idea for the guy."

"He's doing fineeeeee. He even slept great, said it was probably the best since a year ago. Maybe even before then."

"Really?"

"Mhm!" She smiles with pride, proving to him that her idea did help "He's even been happy since then! Even already tried integrating himself to our daily lifestyle!"

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah? Why what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing it's just...I dunno I feel off...as if something's gonna...come wrong out of it...and with all the things the guy's been through already and how he ended up affecting him and what it led him to, it's just that I don't see the real help in this scenario or if it won't go south at any given-" She shuts PJ up with a slap across his face.

"D-Did you just slap me?"

"Yes, because you're overreacting! Nothing bad will happen ok? Why are you so overwhelmed by this…?"

PJ sighs and decides to inform her on what Parappa told him.

"W-What?"

"You heard me. Dude wouldn't exactly feel comfortable if he found out his remaining female friends all had the hots for him. Said it'd kill him internally and externally. Even just one is a rather odd case as he'd feel he'd lose the friendship entirely. Especially if it ended up a split like with him and Sunny. Guess all this really got to him from a deep personal level…So he rather not do to many out of the ordinary things around females period."

"PJ...i don't know how to reply...oh wait...of course I do." She sticks her tongue out at him.

"I was afraid of this…"

"He. is. Fine. Whatever he told you, he seems to have gotten over it!"

"Any evidence to that?"

"Well for starters. WE got him back in the groove to go singing and rapping again by getting him to start singing with us! And he even ran Joe Chin outta town for us. Not to mention, danced with every single one of us~"

"W-What? Really?"

"Of course! Everything you just told me has not even happened remotely. Relationship or not, he handled being around us four pretty well."

"Huh…" PJ recalls on how Parappa himself brought up the topic to begin with. _Maybe he's been thinking it over? Did I really get the thought stuck in his head?_

"Hmm…" PJ rubs his chin "Alright, I believe you. But I also gotta ask, Since the three of you like him-"

"Three?"

"Whoops...don't tell Ma-san I said that, she'd probably tear one of my limbs off...and it'd take forever to sew back on…"

"Haha...knew it...anywho I won't, but carry on."

"Since you all like him, you sure that won't affect living arrangements?"

"What do you take us for? Wild animals?"

"I don't mean that...although now you got me worried."

"Shushhhhhh we're responsible tame adult females, besides. We're still trying to get him to cling to Lammy! Which to my surprise, they did on their own from what I hear!"

"No kiddin'? How'd that happen."

"A-Ah...well...you see here…" After a bit of explaining, PJ simply crosses his arms.

"Not wild animals huh?"

"I forgoooottttt...i'm just glad I wasn't lazy enough to put the bra on…" PJ can't help but chuckle at her morning misfortune.

"This is like a bad sitcom. But hey at least Lammy took advantage of it! And it actually led somewhere! Although in the end, I still say you should also at least try to make a move."

"I refuse! My main priority is helping Lammy! They'd be such a cute couple you would not be able to believe it. And it doesn't seem like Ma-san wants to bother, at least not to my knowledge, so I'll leave her be. Not like she'd ask for my help anyway."

"Fine."

"Thank you."

"Then it's in my best interest to help you win."

"No"

"Sorry Katy." he clears his throat "But if I can help a friend of mine who's in love! So be it! That's what i'll do!" he does his best impression of her voice as he can.

"Ugh...i'm starting to see those words biting me in the butt now…"

"Heh, well this is all I wanted to speak about, I'll be on my way...oh! Wait, I have to give this to Parappa." he holds out Boxy Boy.

"Oh! Well come on then!" as she opens the door, the others speak up "Oh hey you're finally d-done! Parappa wanted to talk to the two of you about something."

"Eh? Is that so? Well what is it dude."

"Well I wanted to thank you guys for helping me out a lot yesterday. And well on the TV came up a commercial bout a club that's in the city next door to our town! Ma-san said she recognized the place from a magazine she read and says it's one of the greatest places in the world! Can you believe that it's literally not that long a drive away? So I figured since we're not working today, cuz it's the weekend and all that, why not take the six of you with me! As a giant thank you!"

"Huh...could be nice since Club Fun shut down and all. I've been meaning to see if I can add another place to DJ at regularly…Sure."

"Ooooh! I agree as well!"

"Then that's four people! Would you guys mind calling Matt and Paula and getting their input? And PJ, you can even invite Sweety Bancha! All while I go look up directions to the place!" Both reply with "Got it."

* * *

"Alright! Got it! It'll still take a while, but it'll be a fun trip. Any word on the final two?"

"Matt's in, says he missed clubbing, and going to do so with friends would be great"

"Paula's in, she loves the idea of finally being able to go back to a club, especially one supposedly better than Club Fun."

"Great! I guess all that's left is getting ready! You guys do just that! I'm off to buy a new beanie!"

"Wait, before you book it. Here, your dad sends you this." Parappa grabs the object in PJ's hands like a child recieving a present from their parent.

"Boxy Boy! Can't believe I forgot to pack you! Thanks PJ!"

"Nah don't mention it, I just happened to be at the right place at the right time."

"Alright! Now I'm off!" He rushes out of the room, as the door shuts behind him from the wind catching up to him.

"Wait did he say he was gonna buy a new beanie?"

"Oh yeah, what happened to his last one? He had it with him when we got him settled in here…"

("Lammy happened.") Ma-san shows the picture she took of the two earlier, showing Lammy wearing the beanie, causing Lammy to bury her face in her hands "Dios porque me castigas…"

"Awwwww~"

"Now this is adorable."

"P-Please stop…" Lammy just glows pink as the two fawn over the picture.

("If you want I can send you two the picture.") both waste no time in saying yes.

"Deja me en pas…por favor..." Lammy huddles onto the floor.

"Oh Lammy don't feel embarrassed over this! It's lovely! And hey! It looks like you can build off of this!"

"Estoy bein, gracias pero no mas…" Lammy lifts her head up "I just got accepted as a best friend by h-him...I rather not...get to pushy and lose that…"

"He gave you his beanie! That's something to go by!" PJ then whispers into Katy's ear as she says that "He also gave you his first ever one." Katy simply shuts his mouth with her tail as she carries on.

"I'm serious! No harm in giving it a shot!"

"I dunno...I mean he just recovered from a b-bad heartbreak…"

"Are you saying you'd do the same?"

"N-No!...I just...I don't know...this is hard…I'll think about it next time a sudden t-thing happens..."

"All I ask!" She lets go of PJ's mouth "And you PJ! Can I ask a favor?"

"What ya need?"

"Well I was gonna unpack Parappa's stuff with him,especially now that we'll be needing my van and his car since not all of us can fit in just one of them, but he kinda left in a hurry. So would you mind helping?"

"I don't see why not, i'm already here."

"Thanks! Let's go!" She grabs his arm and drags him with her outside.

"I'm...gonna go rest in preparation for tonight...this morning's got me all flustered and dizzy…"

("You do that...actually I'mma go do the same, already know what I'm wearing for tonight so I'm good. My as well catch a few extra z's seeing as I got nothing better to do.") They both head to their respective rooms.

* * *

"If there's bound to be a new hat for me. It'll be sold here! Preferably a beanie." He begins glancing around the stores of the usual few shopping districts for anything he'd like to buy, but to no avail "Man...nothing…"

"Mira quien tenemos aqui!" a voice calls out to Parappa, prompting him to turn around only to see Takoyama with a few bags in hand "W-Wah! D-Don't cut my hair!" He quickly places his hands on his head.

"Don't be silly mijo! I'm just here on my day off, shopping for daily things and whatnot. And you're lucky! If I wasn't or if I got my rhythm going, I'd be going for that unholy mess you call hair!"

"I-I rather not have my hair cut...so thank you…"

"Pero por que no? I can turn that blonde mess into hair for success! But I won't force you, at least not now." He then tilts his head to the side "So what brings you here?"

"I'm looking for a new beanie to buy to cover this with."

"I'm afraid no stores around here have what you're looking for…"

"What?!...Aw bummer…" He kicks the dirt and begins walking back to his car "oh well…"

"Espera espera! I didn't say that no place had them, just not here." He thinks, and soon his skin flares to life into a scarlet color causing Parappa to freak out "Ahaha! Si ya yo me recuerdo!" he pulls out a map of the town he had just bought "You would think with living here as long as I have, i'd have seen everything this town has to offer, but no there's always something new that I have yet to see! Anywho." He begins pointing on the map "There's a secluded selections of stores here, It's a safe bet to say they have what you want mijo!"

"Thanks Takoyama!"

"Don't mention it, now go get a new hat to cover your hair! Before I get the urge to fix it!"

"R-Right away sir!" He hightails it outta there and back to his car, relaxing once he's inside "Phew...Alright, let's hope this garners some success." he quickly drives off to where he was instructed to.

* * *

"And that's the last of it, didn't expect him to have so much stuff." PJ says as he winds his arm around.

"You're telling me, especially seeing how many times we've been in his room! But yeah as I helped him pack to move, it was just a shock as to how much there actually was. Luckily none of it was heavy!" Katy wipes her forehead "But blegh, do I need a shower... Gotta get ready for tonight so might as well!"

"Guess it's time I take my leave to get ready as well. See you when it's time."

"Later PJ."

"Take care." He begins walking off once he sees her enter the building.

"Man this place isn't that far of from mine, but all the same I should really get a car as its still quite a distance. Would rather avoid walking to much."

He then stares up at the sun "He did seem happier...maybe he shrugged off that whole, ' _it'd eat away'_ at me thing? It does seem like it...especially with that Lammy moment…" he places his arms around the back of his head "She said they became best friends though…Is he misinterpreting it? Or is he taking it step by step?" he sighs "Whatever it is, I hope it goes well for him. With her or whoever. I just want him to finally be ok." PJ had not noticed he had arrived home and almost walks past it had he not caught himself "Whoa, that would've been embarrassing. Guess time flies when you're distracted. Now let's get ready!"

As he enters, a confused thought enters his head "...What counts as ready for me? Well I have a few hours to figure that out...No problem!" _I'm doomed._ "Nono it shouldn't be that hard...right? I don't need to be formal...but I can't be to casual...can I pull of classy? Ugh...this is not a topic for me…"

Suddenly his girlfriend, a pink bear matching his size while wearing white shoes adorned with rose symbols, a red and blue top with a heart insignia and a pink skirt, walks in from the other room "There you are! I've been trying to surprise you with an out of the blue visit, but you've been gone all morning. Where were you?"

"Oh, sorry Sweety, i've been over a friends apartment and was invited over to a new club as thanks, the invites extended to you as well of course."

"Hm...sure~ I rarely ever get to be around your group of friends anymore ever since Sunny left and Parappa ended up secluding himself." She tries her best to word the next part "How is he?"

"Better. But could still use a smack upside the back of his head."

She simply laughs "So that means he's back to normal then if that's the case."

"Pretty much...hey Sweety can I get your help with something?"

"Of course!"

"I'm at a loss...when it comes to what to wear."

"Wow this is a first, you worrying over your appearance?"

"Well I don't wanna just come off as the kind of guy that could care less considering the place we're gonna be going to! It's just I can't really work with the styles, and some other styles aren't really meant for going to a club...I have no clue what to do and I really rather not be a let down."

"You are anything, but a letdown to them. You're like the backbone of their group, the co leader if something happens to Parappa."

"I wish I felt as amazing as how as you picture me to be."

"Well why not? I'm telling the truth."

"Eh, I've grown to be disappointed in myself. I always see myself as if I were just left behind by everyone you know? Katy, Ma-san and Lammy have MilkCan and they're a hit! They even got to go on a cross country tour 2 years ago to fans they didn't even know they had outside of PaRappa Town! Matt could easily become a sport star in any sport, not just basketball, if he had the moxie to give a shot, could even be in more than one with how dedicated he is. Paula doubles over by being an active athlete and dancer! She's even beginning to dabble greatly in acting. And then there's Parappa. Dude and I grew up together and yet...he left me behind in a smoke cloud with how he progressed over the years. And me? I'm just-"

"Enough, PJ you shouldn't feel that way. You shouldn't even feel like your inferior at all. You're just as great as all your pals are! And you've always have been and will continue to be, you get quite as many request in and out of town to DJ and you've certainly help out at your job with new food ideas. Chop Chop certainly wouldn't have managed without you."

"You have a point there I suppose. Ok fine I'll cut it out for now."

"As you should! Now follow me! I know exactly what you can wear."

"Oh already? Great. What is it."

"This right here!"

"Sweety this is a mirro-..." She just smiles at him with her arms resting on her hips.

"I love you."

"I love you to."

* * *

"I'm beginning to question how Takoyama knew this part of town...eh whatever! Got my new beanie and the lady who sold me it seemed real nice to me! And it almost looks exactly the same! Except its missing the little symbol on the front. Guess I'll have to sew a new one on eventually." He places the new hat onto this head "Doesn't exactly feel the same, but that's mainly because it's still new so it'll take a while to adjust to my head…Man this feels weird…having to readjust to a new beanie..." He shakes his head "Man what am I doing letting something as small as this trip me up! I got my hat didn't I? Therefore I oughta be happy!"

"I thought I heard your voice."

"Huh?" He glances over to the new voice "Oh hey Matt. Didn't expect to see you in this part of town."

"I could say the same to you! Not really your place to be around."

"I needed a new beanie!"

"New beanie eh? What happened to the one you had last night?"

"I gave it a friend who had finally considered me a best friend! Plus I think it'd fit her better than it would me. Though I still want one on my head!"

"Oh? Who's the lucky lady?"

"Lammy? Why askin?"

"Wow...you sure you aren't making moves to hook up?"

"Quiet! Anywho what's your excuse for bein here?"

"Visiting my cousins store. Seems like you were a customer of her wares!"

" _That_ explains why I had such a warm reception! And the near exact hat!"

"Yeahhhh. I may or may not have filled my family in on your popularity~"

"Well thanks! Still though why out here?"

"The people here may seem shady, but they're actually all good hearted gents and madams! My cousin also thought so!"

"Guess Takoyama did as well."

"Haha, yeah, so I visit from time to time, get to know the people. They even influenced my style!"

"I was wondering why your tone suddenly shifted to a darker _bad boy_ stereotype."

"Pffft me a bad boy? More like soft boy!" He chuckles as he scratches his head "Though I do see what you mean. It's fine though! I don't mind as long as I still wear and represent this part of town."

"And there ain't nothing wrong with that! Wanna ride back? I'm heading home now that I got what I needed, so I just need to get ready for the trip tonight!"

"Thanks for the offer, but nah. I'll be here a little while longer. Promised i'd help out for a bit."

"Aight! Just try not to be late when it's time to go."

"Me late? Perish the thought!" The both share a laugh before fist bumping and walking their own ways.

* * *

Parappa exits his parked car and enters his new place. _Glad this didn't take long, and I have a place to get spares if something ever happens to this one!_ "I'm b-" He saw the room was and utter silence "Ack...huh...did they go out?" he reclines on the couch

"Nah they're just asleep." Katy says as she walks in with a towel on her head.

"Aw bummer, wanted to see if we could do something while we wait."

"Not much to do, I was just in the shower seeing as you left before you got to help unpack your things! So me and PJ did so!"

 _Oh...whoops...that completely slipped my mind…_ "Oh uh...my bad, I was just kinda in a hurry of getting myself a new hat…"

"Eh it wasn't to bad, and the excuse to shower earlier in better preparation for tonight was also good. So new hat huh?"

"Yeah see? Looks almost exactly the same as my old ones! Had to go to one heck of a place to get it though, but I say it was worth it!"

"Sure seems like it!" she sits right next to him "It certainly was out of the blue for you to wanna treat us like this."

"I mean I've wanted to repay you all since last night, but nothing came to mind. Then as Ma-san was cycling through channels, while you were talking to PJ, that popped up! I told Ma-san to stop on that commercial to see and from the description and hers! My mind was set on how I could thank you all!" he looks towards the ceiling "I just hope the night goes well."

"Why wouldn't it?"

"Well seeing as with both groups, somethings came up that obstructed what everyone wanted to do…"

"You really can't feel bad over that or else things will always happen in that regard! No one can plan for everything you know."

"Doesn't mean you can't feel bad either!"

"I know what you mean. I'm just saying you shouldn't let things harm your experience that you're trying to enjoy. But I guess I should heed my own words after getting angry at Joe."

"Eh, Joe doesn't count towards that. He always does that sort of thing from time to time meaning you're always at chance of feeling upset, but not anymore!" He throws his arms around his head "So that means, there's no reason to worry at all then. Just go with the flow and let things happen. Only to make the most of it."

"Good!" They both high five each other "How about we carry on watching tv? That sounds good about now."

"You get a head start, I'll go start unpacking my stuff then take a shower myself."

"Alrighty!"

* * *

"Ahhh man, that was refreshing~ Oh boy I didn't think I had THAT much to unpack, but whatevs at least i'm done!" Parappa says as he tries his best to dry his hair, being the only part he really struggles with _Maybe I should consider getting this cut?_

He bumps into Lammy as she leaves her room, looking well rested "Oh whoops! Sorry! Can't see where I'm going thanks to the towel…"

"M-More like all that hair you have to d-dry _with_ the towel. Here l-lemme help…" she grabs the towel and begins helping him dry his mess of a hairstyle "H-Hey I can handle it myself!"

"H-How come it isn't dry t-then?"

"It's a lot! Nobody could dry this in such a short amount of-"

"D-Done!"

"Say what…" he runs his fingers through his hair, seeing that she is correct "H-How-"

"I had long hair when I was young. So I can understand how tasking it can be, but you eventually figure out simple ways to handle it q-quickly!" she hands him back the towel "If you ever w-want, I can h-help in the f-future, m-maybe you'll learn to d-do so yourself from it to!"

"Hmmm…" he looks at his hair "Sure, any help with this will surely make my life a lot easier!" they shake hands over it and were about to part ways until someone spoke up.

("Astounding Lammy, not even awake for more than a few minutes and you already set up grooming dates with the guy!") Lammy flinches from the shock of being told that, while Parappa doesn't notice as he's trying to put his hat on.

"H-Hush! It's just help with keeping h-his hair in c-check!"

("I dunnoooooo")

"Would you rather h-help him in my stead?" she points to Parappa who's struggles getting all his hair into his hat.

("Nooooo thank you! Point taken, alright I believe you.") Parappa finally finishes and notices Ma-san next to Lammy.

"Oh hey! This is great! Now that both of you are awake again, we can start getting ready! The time to go is getting closer, so rather get ready now to avoid last second scrambling right?"

"R-Right!"

("You make a good point, but I thought ahead. I'm already set!") Her dynamite ignites with pride and ego.

"Well that's good to hear!"

"G-Guess I better g-get a move on!...I'll shower next I s-suppose!" She rushes into the bathroom and closes the door behind her.

("Looks like I'll be waiting for my turn to shower. Great.") Her fuze fizzles out as she slumps over with a groan.

"Why not watch tv with me and Katy? We're both already set."

("Eh why not, got nothing better to do. I'd try to use something here as drums, but Katy rather I not break anything.") Parappa simply laughs as they both head over to the living room.

"You're finally done! And hey Ma-san woke up to."

("Yep. Well rested and ready for marginally anything.") she then notices that Parappa and Katy sitting next to each other and something starts to simmer in her mind as she grins mischievously ("Actually, I think I still need to prep up my things for the trip! You two just watch without me!")

"Really? Well glad you noticed before it was to late."

"Yeah...lucky us." _I saw that smile you...ugh...well...it wouldn't hurt…to try something small_

They start to swap between channels "Man, nothing ever seems to be worth watching these days."

"Guess that's why people prefer starting their own entertainment. Like us!"

"Heh, yeah." He stretches his arms "I wonder how far and wide I can branch out now, seeing as we're on the topic. Mushi taught me a whole lot of things and got my name out and about. But I feel as if I need to up my game you feel me? Mushi was truly a king, a one of a kind guy during his uprising. He's still teaching me, but I feel as if somethings I have to start on my own. Need my own style that will inspire others just like Mushi and the other musicians did! And I know I can do it. Just need another big push in my life. Like how Sunny was my startup, I need something else to get me into overdrive!" Parappa cracks his knuckles "All I really have to do is keeping working hard and believing in myself. So that without a doubt, I'll achieve what they did and soon be teaching my own protege the same! And watch it go down and be proud that I left such an impression for it to keep being passed down!."

"You wouldn't really have to worry about it, if at all. You already have such a great basis already that I'm so sure you'll achieve the height you're aiming for without much problem~" It always made her happy when he spoke about his passion and dreams, and even more so when he went to great lengths and beyond to achieve them. It was something she enjoyed, admired. "I certainly believe in you, now and forever~" And loved. She slowly rests her head onto his.

"H-Heh...thanks!.." He notices this, but chooses to not doing anything. _She must be tired...i'll let her be._ "I believe in you three as well." He feels his face heat up from the continued contact, to his confusion "I know MilkCan will certainly leave it's mark on the music world and beyond. Bigger than me that's for sure! Heck it already is! I remember when you girls went on tour for a good while." _Why is it so hot all of a sudden?_ "It was strange. I was happy you girls were going to do bigger and better things to advance your career, but...It was sad…" Her ear perked up at this "It was...lonely. I missed you three...I mean we all did, but the others said I was the most upset out of them!...heh...and there is merit to their words cuz I was rather...quiet for lack of a better word."

"But you had Sunny with you right? How come you still got lonely and sad?"

"Eh...that's a bit of an explanation." _To be frank, not even I know!...I mean I missed you because who wouldn't miss close friends! But why was I much more devastated?_ "I guess...it was just how much I admired you guys? Remember you guys are what got me to actually get going with my singing. Your first ever melody gave me the inspiration to take off. So to have that just leave one day for such an extended period of time…" he trails off, unable to continue.

"You _were_ really REALLY happy when we finally came back from what I recalled. I thought it was only natural, but now that you point it out…" _He missed us...he missed me!_ "Eheh. Well I'm glad you think so highly of us. More so than you do yourself! Which is saying something." She subconsciously nuzzles into his head more.

 _To much contact...why is it bugging me? This is just a friendly thing!...i think..._ he starts twitching in place 'A-Ah yeah. Well I have my reasons. Which should be obvious by this point."

She notices his spastic movement "Yeah...you ok?"

"Me? Haha of course! Totally fine!" _Idiot! She's not gonna buy it when you say it like that!_

"Well...if you say so…" _Am I annoying him?...was PJ right with him being all messed up about this? I dunno, but I rather not have him freak out here._ She lifts her head off of him, releasing a disappointed purr.

 _Aw crap...it_ _ **was**_ _just a friendly thing...and I must've given off the air that it bugged me...gotta think of something to lift her spirits up...uh…_ "Hey, if you had to go tour again would you? Like say another cross country or heck, even a world tour?"

She didn't give an immediate reply, the question left her stuck in deep thought as her tail bent into a question mark "Well I can't answer fully as it needs to be a group answer, but for my reply on it…" _why the sudden interest?_ "I'll have to get back to you on it. Right now I don't have a concrete answer."

"Fair enough, sorry for the question." he grins sheepishly "Well, at least for now I don't have to worry about you three vanishing again! And it helps a bit more now that I actually live with you guys." He then taps his fist into his open hand "And hey! I can house sit if you guys ever do! I mean I'll get lonely, but the motivation to keep this place in tip top shape will help distract me!"

Her face lightly glows pink "You are such a strange guy..." She shuts off the television and stands up, trying not to face him "No"

"Huh?...N-No?"

"My answer is no. I wouldn't wanna go. I...rather prefer being here." She walks off over to Ma-sans room.

"What...was that all about?"

* * *

"Alright Matt, Sweety, and PJ are all checked up in my car!" Parappa says into his phone, speaking to the driver of the van next to him.

"Paula, Lammy and Ma-san are all ready to go here!" Katy replies back into her own phone.

"Alrighty! Now you guys either just follow where I go by staying behind or driving alongside and before long we'll be there!"

"Roger!" they both hang up and begin the drive.

"Parappa this all seems to good to be true."

"Why's that Matt?"

"The fact that this amazing place was just a town over…Course, can't say that I HAVEN'T heard of it before, just never got the urge to go seeing as we had Club Fun."

"I mean no harm in giving it ago right man?"

"No, but...I dunno. I feel off is all. As if from here on out it'll be…" He sticks his arm and head out the window to view the street lights that are beginning to turn on, distracting himself from finishing what he meant. "Heh...it's not night yet...and already the area's starting to look gorgeous…"

"Way to lose the tone…" PJ says as Sweety just laughs.

"Matt I assure you everything will be alright. What could it possibly be."

Matt simply stays starstrucked by the scenery, only mumbling out his answer, unable to be heard. _The start of your next grand adventure…_

As the drive carries on Parappa starts to shimmy around in place until he blurts out a question to Matt "Hey man...you're a ladies man right?" Unbeknownst to him that he butt-dialed Katy by accident.

Matt can't help but break out laughing before looking back into the car, while keeping his head out "Is that what you're worried about? Still?"

"Well I mean...we are heading to a club and...I dunno...it's been on my mind…"

"You ask Matt rather than the guy who's currently IN a relationship?" PJ blurts out, clearly offended.

"Well for starters, Matt is supposedly a ladies man, and you're the reason I'm even stressing over this."

Sweety simply looks astounded "YOU got him all hung up about this? Didn't take you as the type to get into this side of people."

"I didn't do it purposefully! I was just…" he sighs "Worried over his well being…I figured I could give him a little push into something."

"So all my females friends were your first idea?"

"I wanted to offer some options for you to get back on your feet and that seemed like the best. I mean Sunny was a friend. And yes you were in love with her before the friendship, but said friendship only made your love of each other grow INTO that love. So I figured that with your other friends, you'd have a great basis to start see where some lines connect. It couldn't hurt."

"I understand what you mean."

"See I knew you'd say that because- wait...you do?" All three of them stare at Parappa.

"What were you expecting me to go against it like yesterday?"

"Well...yes actually."

"Oh believe me I would've, but it's just." _He's gonna rub it in my face if I say it… oh well…_ "I've been...feeling odd. As if I feel something from them. But only to realize it's nothing. And I wanna shrug it off but something in me keeps picking up on stuff that may or may not be there!"

Matt simple scoffs as he looks back outside the window. _Us dogs pick up emotions so easily, but you're so dense to know what it really is...heh. Ironic considering YOU are probably causing those feelings that you're picking up on._ "I mean you seem to be picking up something, but how do you feel about it?"

"I dunno, they're my friends and I wouldn't wanna ruin anything if I chanced it."

PJ speaks up "Respectable, but let's say you did. Would you have something to say?"

"Geez I didn't know I'd be put on the spot for this...well if I were to feel that way about em, it depends. They each...have so many aspects I greatly would admire in another lover."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, Ma-san is strong willed and explosive so everyday would always be interesting and eventful. Her blunt nature is just what a near carefree guy like me needs ya know? To keep me level headed and prime for anything. Plus she's strong physically to keep me in check in case I were to do anything...well idiotic." Parappa begins to lose focus.

"Meaning every other day." Sweety and Matt burst out laughing at PJ's interjection.

"ANYWAY...Paula's got some talent in many many things! She'd compliment my lifestyle quite well in my opinion, sings well, athletic enough to make sure I keep in top shape, plays music to be a muse all her own. And can dance, to anything, as if every beat had a step to a dance only she saw. And performed it with ease. If I could be that said beat that she can dance to would be fantastic, if I only knew to dance." His grip on the steering wheel starts to loosen.

"If she heard that her ego would skyrocket." Matt rolls his eyes.

"Heh...with Lammy, she's just got this vibe around her...it just...makes everything calm and collected. Confident...cool. Not to mention she's got quite some strength and is just rocking all around! Figurative and literally. Jamming everyday with her would be a joy that's for sure. Two adventurous souls just rocking out in both aspects of music. Instrumental and vocal...that's a life I'd love to have. Just with a great a girl as her for the rest of my days..." his heartbeat quickens.

"...We are talking about Lammy right?" Sweety slaps PJ upside the head once he says this "Ow...yeah ok that was rude of me…"

"And then there's Katy...hoo boy...I'm...at a standstill here…"

"Lemme guess, sister-like?"

"No...I...can't find the words to explain it. At least to the full extent. Lemme give it a shot I guess." He reclines on his seat, but keeps his focus on the road" Well Katy is just...great. A hard worker, never gives anything less than a hundred and ten percent. Tenacious, a go getter. A joy and beacon to just be around. She just has a warm personality in general." He sighs, feeling himself heat up again after recalling the incident earlier "And she certainly has got the groove. Her skills on the bass certainly are glorious enough to get me out of any glum mood if her personality hasn't already. And her voice...singing or not...she thinks I have a great voice, but man if only she could hear herself like how I hear her...That distinct...angelic…" Matt quickly grabs the wheel, keeping it steady.

"DUDE! PAY ATTENTION."

"S-Sorry!...got uh...lost in thoughts…" _It happened again!...What the heck…_

"We could tell...Parappa you _sure_ you don't feel anything for them?"

"See that's what I was gonna ask about-" the car suddenly jams forward from something bumping into them from behind.

"Dude the road!"

"It wasn't me this time!...wait…" Both Matt and Parappa look out their windows to see the van following them had bumped into them. Luckily there was no damage and everyone was alright "Come on, let's go check if they're alright!...wait...did anyone just hear a phone hang up?"

"Not me."

"I was busy keeping you aware of your surroundings."

"Not me either…"

"Guess I heard her phone? Maybe that's how she lost focus." Parappa and Matt hop out of the car and check to see if anyone is approaching, but the street is empty, and with that they head on over to check on the others "Yo! You girls alright in there?"

"Thought you'd have much more focus, but seems like you and Parappa are equal when it comes to quickly losing focus of the road!"

The driver seat window rolls down a bit, still unable to see anyone inside however "Y-Yeah we're fine! Just...got...distracted by...somethings is all. We're all ok though! Sorry about that. Won't happen again!..." the window immediately rolls back up.

"Weird...well at least no one's hurt…"

Matt rolls shakes his head "Well at least you have another thing in common with good ol 'sis'"

"Ugh...whatever let's get going." as they return to the car and resume driving, he struggles on whether or not he should continue.

"Well you gonna go on or not?"

 _There's my answer…_ "Well as I was saying...I don't, at least I assume I don't? When I brought up the fact that I pick up on those emotions, I feel...off? For lack of a better word."

Sweety simple giggles as Matt and PJ facepalm, all thinking the same thing. _He's in love. So in love._

"Would you be able to pick between one of them? In case they all were to like you."

"No...I feel like picking one would cause some...complications."

 _He's not WRONG, but they wouldn't break up friendships over it...of course...Sunny probably unwillingly caused that paranoia within him…_ "Well I getcha. But why ask me over it? Saying I was a so called 'ladies man'."

"Well, you literally are the star in a lot of girls eyes. And you are no slouch when being around any female in general...I figured...you'd help me out in some regards. I mean I don't wanna aim for a friend...and we are going to a club...so I figured I might spark something there with someone at the very least…"

"Is that a reason for the sudden club invite?"

"It wasn't at first...but maybe it was and i'm just not aware of it."

 _Among other things…_ "Well, i'd help you...but uh...here's the thing…i'm not into any of the gals that flock to me...I'm...kinda.."

"What?"

"What most ladies usually go after...that's also my end goal…"

"I...don't get it…" Matt simply rubs his head, unable to fully explain what he means.

"He means he's gay." Both PJ and Sweety bluntly blurt out with a deadpan expression causing Matt to just air out the collar of his shirt..

"O-Oh!...uh...s-sorry for not picking up on that!...But I guess I should've seen that now that i'm thinking about it...eheh...sorry for uh...making it awkward on ya…"

"Eh...it's fine...I'm used to seeing how dense you can be."

"What does that mean?..."

"What indeed I wonder." Matt resumes looking out the open window.

* * *

"Alright all we gotta do is just follow Parappa and supposedly we'll be there in no time flat!"

"Ma-san, y-you and Paula know about the place r-right?"

("Yeah, real fancy place. Apparently though it's been real finicky with who it allows in recently!")

"O-Oh?"

"Yep! They say the owner is one hell of a picky guy."

("Really? Later reports show that its not the owner of the club, but rather some guy acting as a bouncer. Apparently the owner almost never gets to see the people he kicks out cuz by the time he arrives, they're already got the boot!")

"Sounds like a real tool if you ask me." Katy says with a huff "Though I'm sure that won't happen to us!"

"I dunno...the self proclaimed bouncer who thinks he's the owner of the place is always there to constantly kick out who he deems unfit to be in there...which is apparently everybody!" Paula simply glances at her phone "Dunno what his deal with the world is…"

("Not like we'll take him sitting down! The owner never gets to see the people, but we won't let that happen to us!")

"I-I rather avoid the conflict in general…"

"Lammy come on-...huh? Parappa's calling me?..." Katy glances at her phone for a split second before looking back at the road.

("The heck does the mutt want now?")

"Beats me...I'm a bit busy right now...mind answer it and putting it on speaker anyone?"

"Way ahead of you!" Paula had already done so before she asked.

" _Hey man...you're a ladies man right?"_

("The heck?")

"I...don't think that was meant for us? I hear Matt laughing like a hyena...d-did he end up buttdialing my number?"

" _Is that what you're worried about? Still?"_

"Still?..."

"Should we h-hang up?.."

("You kidding? This sounds juicy!")

" _I dunno...it's been on my mind…"_

" _You ask Matt rather than the guy who's IN a relationship?"_

" _Well for starters, Matt is supposedly a ladies man, and you're the reason i'm even stressing over this."_

Matt Major, a ladies man? That's a joke." Paula says causing everyone to laugh until.

" _So all my female friends were your first idea?"_

"Wait, what." the girls say in unison as they stare at the phone, listening to PJ's explanation and Parappa's answer.

" _I've been...feeling odd...As if I feel something from them. But only to realize it's nothing. And I wanna shrug it off but something in me keeps picking up on stuff that may or may not be there!"_

The girls all swallow roughly upon hearing that, unaware of each other. They keep focus on the phone, especially after how Matt replies.

" _I mean you seem to be picking up something, but how do you feel about it?"_

" _I dunno, they're my friends and I wouldn't wanna ruin anything if I chanced it."_

They all release a sad but relieved sigh, until PJ get's him to keep going.

" _They each...have so many aspects I greatly would admire in another lover."_

"T-This has gotta be a prank call…"

(Agreed, and I don't find it funny…")

"Let's just hang up…"

"Alright let me just-" Before Paula can do so. Parappa begins listing everything he admires about the four, showing that he was very serious.

("S-Strong willed...to compliment his life?..")

"Be his muse?.."

"F-For the rest of h-his days...w-with me?..."

 _And nothing for me...figures…_ "Wow...certainly has a way with words for you girls doesn't he?" she simply keeps driving, and then Parappa begins explaining his admiration for her.

" _Well Katy is just...great. A hard worker, never gives anything less than a hundred and ten percent. Tenacious, a go getter. A joy and beacon to just be around. She just has a warm personality in general... And she certainly has got the groove. Her skills on the bass certainly are glorious enough to get me out of any glum mood if her personality hasn't already. And her voice...singing or not...she thinks I have a great voice, but man if only she could hear herself like how I hear her...That distinct...angelic…"_

" _DUDE! PAY ATTENTION."_

Katy is immediately caught off guard, as she notices that she has lost focus in driving, she stomps on the brakes, but still bumps into the car in front of her. Thankfully everything is fine.

"Oof...ow...you all ok?" she turns off her phone.

"I'm f-fine!"

"All good here!..."

("Geez would it kill ya to focus on the road?!")

"S-Sorry! I dunno how I lost focus...it just hap-"

"Yo! You girls alright in there?"

"Answer him!"

Katy attempts to lower her window until she sees herself completely red and tear stained, so she only lowers it partly, enough for them to hear her "Y-Yeah we're fine! Just...got...distracted by...somethings is all. We're all ok though! Sorry about that. Won't happen again!..." She immediately rolls it back up, and quickly grabs a napkin to clean her face off as she tries to calm her blush down "Oh man…"

"You alright?"

"Yeah! Just...emotional."

("No kidding...come on, they started moving again, let's go.")

"R-Right!..." Katy resumes driving off. _Maybe...I do have a shot like the rest of them?..._

* * *

"WOW this place is ginormous!"

"And is no slouch in the appearance factor."

"I-I wonder what it's like on the i-inside…"

"We won't find out just standing out here!"

The group heads up to the overly glimmered buildings door "What's with this town, there's lights everywhere!"

"Makes sense, the town _is_ called 'Neon Heights'. The town doesn't exist in the day."

"You mean none of this is real until night?"

"No Matt...I mean that this place GETS no sunlight at all! All the buildings and stuff block out every source of light. So the entire place is illuminated with neon lights twenty four seven!"

("A place nearly always at night? My need to sleep is peaked.") they all soon reach the door.

"Even the door is all fancy and lit up… well let's go in!" Parappa pushes the doors open, and upon entering, see the grandeur that the place was renown for. Lights and music, atmosphere, a variety of different faces to view. Refreshments for everyone's fancy. This place was literally an escape for anyone and everyone that seem to want to just dance, sing and play the troubles away.

"It really is amazing in here…" Katy says with her mouth agaped "And no sign of the so called boun-"

"HEY!"

"Er...and I jinxed it…" A large individual wearing a white tuxedo and pants, as well as a red undershirt and black tie appears. He has the head of an angler fish as he wears a fishbowl style helmet.

"You lot aren't regular faces. What you doin here?"

"Isn't it obvious? Here to dance the night away."

"Not here you ain't!" four other people appear from behind him. Three other guys and one girls. The guys consisted of a Lobster, Crab and Shrimp, while the girl was a swan. The guys matched what the angler had while the girl wore a long red dress "Come on out ya go! Or else we'll be 'escorting' ya out!"

("I'd like to see you try!")

"The heck you say? What kinda garbage language is that!" needless to, Ma-san was pissed from his reply alone.

"H-Hey!" Parappa intervenes "We don't want any trouble, but why can we not be here?"

"Club Eritque Arcus isn't for just anyone, you have to fit the standards of our fine city! Not be some hicks for the boonies outside!" The group behind him all laugh.

"Eritque Arcus is latin for Rainbow isn't? So it stands to reason that anyone should be aloud in eh?" PJ says folding his arms.

"Bah, the damn owner lets anyone in here! Ruins the scenery if you ask me! Not everyone gets to be here, just like not everyone should be able to do stuff clearly meant for specific people!"

It was clear they weren't gonna get through to the racist bottom dweller at all "Look, we're not leaving."

"Then I'm afraid you leave us no choice…" The begin closing the distance.

"You don't wanna do this…" PJ, Katy, Paula, Parappa and Ma-san step forward in tow with Sweety, Matt and Lammy hiding behind them.

"Look at this...thinking they can fight back…" The club immediately quiets down as everyone there stares at the soon to be fight as it's about to begin, gossiping amongst themselves.

" _Bruter's at it again…"_

" _Why are they trying to fight back?"_

" _They look like they can take him on...but it's still doesn't seem fair with how cheap Bruter's tactics are…"_

" **STOP!"** A blinding light appears from a door just beyond the crowd.

"Aw hell...he finally catches up again…"

A tall man cascaded by the bright light jump across the stage and dancefloor till he lands in between the two groups "Bruter what is the meaning of this? Time and time again I keep telling you to not do this, and yet you stay as stubborn as can be." The man, now out of the blinding light is seen to be wearing black and silver leather pants and jacket with shoes to match. He's also wearing a big helmet over his head with no real visible indication of what his face looks like. Soon the helmet emits three exclamation points on the screen visor "Now what is your reason for doing this, this time…"

"Same reason as always, typical hicks trying to ruin the atmosphere!"

The man turns towards Parappa and co. "Why Bruter. This is my friend! Whomst I invited! Why you gotta be harshing his flow and messing with his party posse?"

"Really? This runt and his group are your pals?"

"Of course! Me and him go way back!" Parappa's friends simply stare at him as he shrugs in confusion.

"You say that about everyone everytime you catch me as i'm about to evict em."

"BECAUSE THE WORLD'S POPULACE ARE MY FRIENDS!...Except you lot...the five of you are just rude and unpleasant."

"Then why don't you kick us out."

"Club Rainbow prides itself on its diversity and acceptingness of everyone! I'd be a hypocrite if I kicked you out...and you know and abuse this fact…" Bruter and his group just laugh in triumph "Look. He is my friend and I can prove it!"

"Lemme guess, you're gonna perform a song with him. Like you say with everyone who just turns tails and runs."

"They run cuz you're breathing down their neck like a rabid animal!...Which you lot are…But i'm serious." He walks over to Parappa "This is my great friend who I have mixed and matched countless forms of music! I introduce you lot to-"

"Parappa Rappa…"

"Yes…Parappa. Him and I will be showing you our funk in a song that no one has ever heard before, to prove to you that our friendship is real! Because who else would know the song other than the people who created it?"

"I still say you're full of shit."

"Care to wager then Bruter?"

"Hm...works for me. If you can prove that this runt is your pal by getting the club to groove to your supposed song. They can stay. Heck everyone can enter this club. But they won't cuz I know you won't win."

"And if we do?"

"Heh. If you can pull of the impossible, me and these four leave, never to set foot back in here."

"Remember that those are your own words!"

"Yeah, and it won't happen. Cuz you're full of shit!"

"We'll prove you wrong." The man grabs Parappa by the hand and drags him to the center of the dancefloor.

"H-HEY...Who are you! Why did you lie! What was with that-"

"I already knew who you are."

"Huh?"

"And that's why I have high hopes you can keep this melody with me."

"B-But…"

"You wanna stay don't you?" Parappa looks back at his friends "Well?"

"...I do…"

"Great! Then let's-"

 _Stage 1: Club Rainbow_

"Get started!" The guy snaps his fingers and suddenly the lights turn back on into soft pastel colors as a song starts to play. As the guy said, it was a song no one had ever heard, not even him, but for some reason…

 _Aaaah! You've got to show me your smile...love together, ah ahhhh~_

Parappa knew it. Deep down in his heart, he knew this song.

 **Lesson 1:**

" _Parappa, my boy the Rapper, I say, when love is the answer what will you play?_

 _Will you guide the masses to and fro? Will you show them the love that they gotta know?"_

" _Say Love!"_

"Love!"

" _Live!"_

"Live!"

" _Dance!"_

"Dance!"

" _And Down!"_

"Down!"

" _OOOOOOH Love Together!"_

"Love together!"

" _Livin' on the floor!"_

"Livin' on da floor!"

" _I'm tired of waiting."_

"I'm tired of waiting!"

" _For you baby!"_

"For you baby!"

" _Let's love together!"_

"Love together!"

" _Livin' on the floor!"_

"Livin' on da dancefloor!"

" _I'm dancing alone tonight…"_

"Dancing alone tonight."

" _To forget all about y-ou!"_

"Forget about you girl!"

 **Lesson 2:**

" _The me-lo-dy….flows on and on...the phooone…_

 _I just wish that your voice...could stay here...forever…"_

" _DANCEFLOOR! Even when the summer passed…"_

"DANCEFLOOR! I will never forget you girl!"

" _Falling...down to…"_

"Falling….down to…"

" _DANCEFLOOR!_

 _Don't look at me with those crying eyes!"_

"OOPS!..." An object bounces off Parappa's head, he didn't get back up immediately, nobody threw this at him...he missed the beat. _Did he want me to sing that part ALONGSIDE him?_ He slowly glances towards to guy, only to see him in the same pose he was in. _HE DID...I FLOPPED THE BEAT… and...he copied my pose to give me a save...so I gotta worry for beats I have to say in unison?...This won't end well…_

" _Why don't you...Feel the beat!"_

"Why don't you. Feel the beat!"

" _Why don't you...Chant the rhyme!"_

"Why don't you. Chant the rhyme!" _If those lyrics are anything to go by...he's not to happy...at the very least now I'm prepared!_

" _I look up to!-"_

"I look up to!-"

" _The TV tower all alone!"_

"The TV tower all alone!"

" _Until the_ morning comes!" _Nailed it!_

 **Lesson 3:**

The music suddenly cuts out, Bruter has messed with the music. Parappa starts to internally panic as the guy looks like he's about to carry on.

" _The beat has retreat, and there's nowhere to go!_

 _Can't just dance with our feet! Who can carry on the show?"_

Suddenly, a familiar guitar, bass and set of drums all play with a another familiar voice singing the to the tune of the song.

" _Aaaah! you've got to show me your smile...Love together, Ah Aaaah~"_

Parappa looks up to see Katy, Lammy, Ma-san and Paula. The beat was still on!

" _WHOAAAAAAA! LOVE TOGETHER!_

"Love together!

" _We're livin' on the floor!"_

"Here we livin' at!"

" _I'm tired of_ waiting all night for you!"

" _Love together!"_

"Love together!"

" _Livin' on the floor!"_

"Here we at, here we at!"

" _I'm dancing to_ forget all about you!"

" _The tune rocks..._ to the car radio…"

" _Ah...my heartbeat just_ does not wanna stop!"

 **Lesson 4:**

The music cuts out again as they see Bruter chasing the girls around the dancefloor. Bruter immediately stops however, when he hears the music continue, thanks a familiar DJ remixing a beat to sound like the song. Parappa glances at PJ who just pulls his shades down and winks towards him.

" _We keep up with the feat that makes this song unique_

 _We inspire love to all, no need to feel bleak!"_

" _DANCEFLOOR! Ever since we promised~"_

"DANCEFLOOR! Don't give up on your dreams!

" _Falling down to the..."_

"Falling down to the…"

" _DANCE_ FLOOR!

 _How does the night feel_ as it's tearing us apart…"

" _Why don't you_ feel the beat!"

" _Why don't you_ chant the rhyme!"

" _I look up to-"_

"I look up to!-"

" _The TV tower all alone!"_

"The TV tower all alone!"

" _Until the_ morning comes!"

" _Love together!"_

"Love together!"

" _We're living on the floor!"_

"Living on the dancefloor!"

" _I'm tired of_ even bothering to wait for you!"

" _Love together!"_

"Love together!"

" _We're living on the dancefloor!"_

"Wish you were living down here with me!"

" _I'm dancing to the_ racing beat of this weekend!"

The record scratches as now PJ is the one running from Bruter.

"This is getting ridiculous…" The guy snaps his fingers causing the lights to shut off leaving the place pitch black.

"Psst!...PJ over here!.."

"Don't have to tell me twice…"

("They'd never think to look up here...but I think we're missing someone…")

"Ma-sans right I just count four of us…"

Down at the dance floor everyone just hobbles around in a confused dazed over why the music stopped.

"U-Um...h-hello?...Oh!...E-Excuse me!...G-Guitar...w-where's my guitar…I had it in my hand w-while we w-were running..."

"That should have been enough time…" He snaps again and lights flare to life. Lammy finds herself in between Parappa and the guy.

"E-EEP…"

"LAMMY HEADS UP! WE'RE KINDA STUCK UP HERE SO IT'S UP TO YOU!" Katy chucks Lammy's guitar towards where she is.

"Don't let her get it!" Bruter shouts as the run after it!"

"Not this time you don't...EVERYBODY JUMP UP AND DOWN IF YOU'RE LOVING THE SONG SO FAR!" Everyone instinctively begins jumping up and down, bouncing the guitar out of Bruter's reach as him and his cronies stay trapped within the moshpit while the guitar safely bounces towards Lammy.

"G-Got it!"

"And you know what that means!" Parappa gets ready in anticipation.

"LEAVE IT TO! LAMMY!" With the guitar back in her hands the beat resumes. Now at an even stronger melody.

 **Lesson 5:**

" _Love is the answer, get with one another, staying way intact._

 _We are your dancers, please don't smother, here comes the final act!"_

" _Love together!_

"Love together!

" _Is this_ an illusion?"

"I'll neeeeveeeer...let you go!" The guy snaps again causing the crowd to pick Parappa and Lammy up as they ride the crowd wave, leading the two to sing in unison.

" _Love together! Love together!"_

"We're loving on the dancefloor!"

" _So we can get to the_ other side of sorrow!"

" _KICK IT UP DJ!"_ as if on cue, PJ begins to play.

" **EVERYBODY GET DOWN!"** everyone begins to shout.

" _Blow it away! All the heartbreak!"_

" **GET DOWN! GET DOWN!"**

The guy snaps and points to Parappa, signifying the rest as a solo. Or rather duo in this circumstance with Lammy.

"GIVE IT UP FOR MY BOY PJ!"

" **EVERYBODY GET DOWN!"**

"GETTING RID OF ALL THE HEARTBREAK!"

" **GET DOWN! GET DOWN!"**

"LOVE! _LOVE!_ **LOVE!** TOGETHER BABY!"

"LOVE! _LOVE!_ **LOVE!** TOGETHER BABY!"

"LOVE! _LOVE!_ **LOVE!** TOGETHER BABY!"

"Used to dance here with me…" Lammy and Parappa sing in harmony.

"LOVE! _LOVE!_ **LOVE!** TOGETHER BABY!"

"LOVE! _LOVE!_ **LOVE!** TOGETHER BABY!"

"LOVE! _LOVE!_ **LOVE!** TOGETHER BABY!"

"Alone now on the dance flooooor…" Parappa and Lammy are back on their feet as everyone surrounds them with joy as Parappa points to Lammy to finish off the final verse as he held the mike to her.

"Ah!~ You've gotta show me your smile...love together, Ah! Aaaah!~..." With that line said, both smile towards each other warmly as the crowd roars with cheers and whistles, clapping and snapping and stomping their feet.

Bruter and his group land face first on the ground in front of the three "Well Bruter? I think it's safe to say who the victor is~"

"...yeah yeah…" He gets up and dusts himself off "You got lucky...out of all the people that had to come here...it had to be ones that know how to keep a great rhythm...I'll admit that much…come on, let's get out of here." The five of the leave the premises silently with no hassle at all.

"Oh thank god they're finally gone...you have no idea how long i've wanted them goooooone...but enough of that! YOU two were PHENOMENAL! Wouldn't everyone here agree?!"

" **YEAHHHHH!"**

Everyone huddles around them until the guy gets them to disperse. Allowing Parappa and his group to meet up.

"THAT WAS AMAZING!" Katy says grabbing Lammy by the hands and bouncing up and down.

("WE SURE SHUT THEM UP!") Ma-san slaps Parappa on the back from joy.

"OOF…"

"BUT FORGET THAT, YOU GUYS WERE ROCKIN'!" Paula says as she high fives Parappa.

"I agree, that was some massive show you put on for all of em. Parappa I didn't know you knew that song!"

"I didn't PJ, like this guy said, no one ever heard it...yet...I knew it by heart for some reason…"

"Well whatever the reason man, it was perfect!" Matt says as he fistbumps the sky.

"I should really tag along often if this is the excitement you guys get into!" Sweety says as she smiles warmly towards PJ for helping his friends.

"Hey you eight." The guy calls out to them to which they simply look at him "I deeply apologize for Bruter's actions...but I couldn't really do anything to him or i'd be a hypocrite by breaking the clubs number one rule. But that aside. You were great! Would you lot mind following me?" He walks off towards the room he came out of and the others exchanged confused glances as they decided to follow.

"Is everything fine?.."

"Yeah, about that." He reclines into a swivel chair backwards, as he spins it to face their direction. "Why did you guys come here?"

Everyone freezes on the spot. Were they still going to be evicted?

 _Can't I ever catch a break?..._

 _A/N_

 _Woooo this big hurdle is outta the way. If anyone asks yes there will be more stages so expect that! And if anyone wants to see "Cool, Bad, and Worse" Scenarios on them, just ask! I may add em at the end like I am right now. As long as they ask. And that's about it. See you next A/N_


	7. I love you, you, you and you!

"Why bother yourselves coming here! You guys are famous!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief now understanding that he wasn't trying to kick them out.

"You! You're Parappa Rappa, Parappa the Rapper! You, you and you!" He points to Katy, Lammy and Ma-san "You're MilkCan! The Drummer Ma-san, the guitarist Lammy and bass guitarist and lead vocal Katy! And you my big man! You're PJ the DJ! DJ PJ!" He hops off the chair and bounces in place as the screen on his helmet emits a happy face icon during his little fanboy dance.

"Wow. And I thought nobody could be a bigger fanboy than Parappa…"

"Hey!"

"Oh it's true, when it comes to the music gig, I make it my duty to know everyone in it and whether they're big or just starting out, there's always my personal faves! And Voila as it turns out you guys are all from the town next door to our technicolored city! And you took time out of your lives to visit my little old club! I am beyond starstruck!"

"Wow...that's uh...nice and all, but who are you?"

"AHHH!" The guy grabs his chest dramatically as he falls onto the chair "Oh how cruel fate is, my popularity is leagues below all yours, so none of you know me…" He gets back up "But that's to be considered! And I don't mind at all!"

"You seemed liked you did mind just a second ago."

"Oh it just stung for abit! That's all! But where are my manners. I really should introduce myself! I haven't used my real name for so long when I donned this here helmet. So the name I have now for a while is Leo Steps!" Upon uttering his name, Ma-san, Paula and Matt all rush in front.

"W-W-WAIT! THE LEO STEPS!" Paula says as she almost topples him over.

"E-Eep...Um...yes?..."

("I THOUGHT YOU LOOKED FAMILIAR! DUDE YOU'RE A CELEBRITY!")

"Eeeh...that's pushing it abit…"

"You kidding?! You've had a streak as a singer, dance and guitar player, but are no stranger to other instruments such as piano or drums! Not to mention you can remix like no other DJ from what they say! And you're even quite adept at soccer and basketball!"

"Oh that's just the tabloids…honestly I really only dabble in those things cuz of my family...hehe...they piled a lot on me growing up and I guess it stuck with me...but I don't really wanna be known for it...Just singing and dancing...and maybe playing my guitar. So that's why I settled as a club owner about two years back."

"That explains why your name started dropping out around then."

"Eh that and I'm not a fan of the press. I rather fan over ACTUAL stars that the press review, not me…I mean I started my career at fifteen and stopped now that I'm twenty…I believe it was a decent run!"

"A star that doesn't wanna be a star?"

"Why even become a star?"

"I didn't by choice...it just sorta...happened to me for doing what I liked."

"Like me!"

"And us!"

"Same here."

"Exactly! Except you guys pull of the star appeal better! Me? I rather host the stars! You guys are always invited here! Wanna play here? Go ahead! Wanna just dance around and enjoy the place! Just do it! Wanna own the place?"

"NO!" everyone shouts at the same time, unwilling to deal with the work.

"Ok…maybe not that one." he taps his helmet until an exclamation point pops up "Well you guys came to have a good time! And the dancefloor is still just out that door! But wait a minute!" He grabs Parappa and Lammy by the shoulder "You two are a glorious duo! I might just hire the two of you to come back and play for the crowd! You two are flawless together! And the crowd certainly sees it! Hell I'll even help get your names out there! All your names! You wanna find more places to blow up? I'm your guy!"

"Wow...thank you!"

"Y-Yeah! T-Thanks!"

"Huh...a chance to catch up to everyone…" PJ glances along the ground.

"Huh? PJ you say something?"

"Huh? O-Oh no, it's nothing dude."

"Well you both can go on your way!"

"Leo, mind if I stay here and relax for abit?...I'm exhausted from having to run from that buffoon." Katy says as she slumps onto the swivel chair.

"Oh sure! But there are more rooms with more efficient places to relax onto if you wanna."

"Nah...this is fine."

"You wanna spin it don't you."

"Yeahhhh…" Katy simply spins the Swivel chair around in circles.

"Ok, you do that! Now let's go party!"

Everyone returns outside except Leo who turns back around "Now, that they're out there, mind telling me what's actually up? You can't have fun on the dancefloor if you're feeling all blegh on the inside!"

"It's nothing! I guess I just feel guilty for sitting here in your main room?"

"First off, that's not a problem! Second off, you're lying!"

"Feh...It's just something personal- what are you doing?" She soon finds herself staring at the screen on his helmet, when suddenly a green light flashes on her face "W-Wah!...what did you do?"

"And the scan shows that you are having…" A heart pops up on his screen with the electronic voice speaking up " _Love troubles."_ prompting Leo to speak up again "Ooooooh that's a toughie to deal with! But i'll do my best!"

"Stop! I don't want help...I can't be anyway…"

" _Scanner indicates that target is confused on emotions they've had for a specific individual. Target has recently come across information that has made target rethink things that at first target thought weren't possible."_

"STOP SCANNING ME…"

"Sorry! It kinda does that on it's own from time to time…the only way to stop it is to take my helmet off."

"Then can you please do that…"

"Unfortunately I must never remove this helmet."

"That's totally not eerie…"

"Look if you don't want help, at least talk it out? Maybe getting it off your chest will help. I may not look it but I'm a good listener!" An ear icon appears on his monitor.

"Ugh...fine…" she begins spinning the chair again "So yeah...your stupid helmet is right…"

"Is it PJ?"

"What? Ew no! He's also taken."

"The ladies man Matt?"

"Not in a million years...ugh...it's Parappa…"

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed."

"You'd be the first...so...all our lives, we grew up in a sibling manner you know?"

"Oof, I see what you're getting at."

"Yeah...so when the emotions happened...I knew from the getgo...it was going nowhere…"

"Aw…" A frown face appears on his monitor, prompting Katy to chuck a nearby object at his head "Ow!...right...not the appropriate time...sorry…"

"Now...that didn't...stop me though...I wanted to stop the emotions since at first he fell in love with someone else...and I wanted the best for him...but then...another friend fell in love with him...then another...and then the final one...suddenly I felt like it wasn't...fair?...they all had such great chances...and me?...All I could do was be the cheerleader…" She stops spinning the chair from sadness and dizziness "I wanted a shot, but why bother? All the time I assumed he wouldn't see me like that...then...the accident happened…"

"Accident?...right...I recall starting last year Parappa just dropped from the singing scene all of a sudden…"

"Yeah...that was...thanks to us...he tried keeping us all safe and it just...almost went entirely wrong...he was stuck in a hospital bed...thought to be trapped in that state...for an estimated time of a decade, or maybe even longer...heh...at that point...I didn't care for the emotions, I just cared that my first ever friend...who promised to stick with me till the ends of the earth...was just...stuck there in a coma...I was losing him…"

"Oh...I didn't realize the accident was that severe...you have my apologies…"

"Heh...it's fine...you saw him walking and jumping around didn't ya? He's fine now...but back then...it was scary...I couldn't speak at all...during the first day, that's when we were relegated to taking turns watching over him...as if by some miracle he'd wake and the person would call the others...but it was just everyone's way of hoping...that it'd be ok in the end...during my first shift...I couldn't muster a word...and during the second...I manage to pour my heart out...I guess because he wasn't able to hear me...it felt alright…" Katy recalled the day of her second shift.

 _You'd promise we'd be friends forever...please wake up...please...don't even do it for me...do it for the others…,but you're not going to are you?...am I just fooling myself?...so I'm guessing I'm an idiot for just trying to force something out of you when I know it's not possible...then...is this the end?...huh...oh god...I can't stop crying...I wish I told you...I guess now...is better late than never…I...love...you…_

Katy remembers kissing him then and there...it was the end, so she felt she could at the very do that if she was being honest about everything else. And then the miracle happened...he woke up.

" _K-Ka-..ty?..."_

" _O-Oh my god…"_

" _What's...wrong….? Ow...everything...hurts…"_

" _D-Don't move!...oh...oh thank everything...you're ok...you're alive...the others are going to be so happy...the others! I-I have to call them!..."_

Katy looks up at the ceiling "I kissed him...and just like that old fairytale of sleeping beauty and snow white and whatever other old cliche story...he woke up…"

"Oh my...hm…"

"What?"

"Well I mean it seems fitting on how that worked! Said old folk and fairy tales were based on some strange magic or another. But it's not exactly magic. They say when there's enough emotion between two people. Only one generous action of love between the two can help a lot, whatever the situation."

"Funny you should say that...that's what brings me to why i'm feeling like this. I...recently...like really really recently...found out...he...may feel the same...what I thought was me running in a race where I was handicapped against the other three people having an unfair advantage...suddenly changed...I finally feel like...I have a shot...and all that...is just bewildering…after what I kept telling myself…"

"I see…so...what will you do?"

"I don't know! Because the thing is...I still wanna help my best friend and bandmate win him over…"

"I assume you mean Lammy?"

"Funny how that's what you guess right immediately…"

"Well I mean that was a tad more obvious."

"Got me there." Katy sighs "I'm out of it. I dunno if I even can make any advances…"

"Does she know you also like him?"

"No…"

"Why not tell her? If she knew it was eating away at you, she'd probably both, tell you to stop helping, and to start trying for yourself. You said she's your best friend right? She'd want you to have a steady go to. Unless you just want her to have the guaranteed chance."

"I just want them both to be happy." She places her arms around the back of her head as she reclines on the chair, entranced in deep thought for a while before coming to a personal conclusion "But you know...now...I think I wanna try being happy to..." She hops up from the chair "I'll consider it, for now I'm helping Lammy!"

"Your own choices! Besides I said I wouldn't help, only listen."

"And I thank you for respecting my wishes! Now, I am feeling a tad better, let's get back out there and party!"

"Right behind you!"

* * *

The group were having such a entrancing time in the area, especially now that they weren't being pestered by any problems whatsoever.

"Man I am so happy I offered to take you guys here!"

"Same here! Beats just sleeping back at our apartment!"

("Nothing beats sleeping.")

"O-Oh Ma-san! I don't t-think you count!"

"I agree with her."

"You agree with anything that revolves around eating and sleeping!"

"Which is the premises of my upbringing."

"And djing?"

"What do you think I was brought up to do?" Sweety simply rolls her eyes at his remark.

"Speaking of that, Any of you guys wanna hit the stage?" A confused look lights up on Leo's helmet.

"My voice is tapped out for the night!"

"That's a first."

"Oh yeah? What about you then?"

"There's only so much I can do as a dj before I start burning my fingers to the nub."

"Egh that's a mental image." Both Parappa and PJ laugh at each other.

"Well what about you girls?"

"Hm...I think I'm game for it. Lammy? Ma-san?"

("This place seems sturdy enough to play at my full calibre! Hell yeah I'm gonna take any opportunity to do that!")

"Sure thing! If you gotta jam then i'm your lamb!" Lammy simply shows off by strumming a long riff.

"There's you answer Leo!"

"I'll set up the stage! This thing can become almost anything so any specific requirements from what you want from the stage?" Lammy's ears perk up as she starts listing one.

"A cool one! With awesome sound management and has reclining seats, power steering, dual airbags and the sound quality's gotta be superior!" Upon finishing, everyone looks her "O-Oh uh...only if you c-can!.."

"I...um...i'll go check if I can manage that…" Leo walks off, amazed by the request.

("The heck kinda tall order was that?")

"I-I don't know what came over me…"

"I doubt anything can have the things you mentioned."

"I-I'm sorry…I-I'll tell him to sto-"

"GOT IT!" The stage suddenly opens up and from the center rises a platform, a car themed one, and said car is in the form of a guitar.

("Huh...guess it wasn't that tall an order.")

"Wow, guess that almost anything has to be changed to literally anything! You lucked out huh Lammy?"

Lammy doesn't reply immediately, instead staying fixated on the stage "Yeah…~"

("Looks like someone is super happy to get their wish!")

"Well what are you doing just sitting idly by? You gotta rock on your custom stage girl!" Katy grabs the enamoured lamb onto the stage.

As the trio finally got settled, Katy spoke to the crowd "Hello again all you fine Ladies and Gents! Are you ready to groove?"

" **YEAH!"**

"Great! Cuz we're here ready to jam for all of you! Especially with this song, on keeping your head held high no matter what! Times may not be simple anymore but doesn't mean you should lose your spark!" Their instruments begin to play in a locked harmony as Katy began to sing.

"It was the 36th time that...he broke my heart!"

"It was the 80th time that...I'd fallen apart!"

"I knew from the start that things were gonna be rough, but not as painful as thiiiiiis!~"

The crowd was delighted to hear the song, her friends included, but both PJ and Leo couldn't help but feel the song was probably to convenient in its timing.

* * *

"You guys are welcomed ANY time here! And if you want a gig, call literally whenever! I'll always manage a time! Or not! Literally on the spot would also be aight! I'm sure your new adoring fans wouldn't mind!" Every window in the building behind him opened reveal groups of the audience all yelling in cheer for the departing group. "Listen to that love! LET'S HEAR IT FOR PARAPPA TOWNS FULL PRIDE AND JOY EVERYBODY!"

" **PARAPPA! MILKCAN! DEE-JAY P-J!"** was all they started chanting over and over, causing the pupils of the mentioned five to turn into stars.

"Uh oh…" Matt simply pokes Parappa who nearly topples over in place.

"Better get them out of here quick before the crowd's love gets to em!" Paula says trying to drag Lammy and Katy.

"It looks like we're a tad late there…" Sweety says waving her hand in front of PJ's face, getting no response.

"Mushi, mom and dad would be so proud…~"

"We're…~"

("Super…~")

"S-Stars…~"

"I really am at their level…~"

"Yo Leo! Mind helping us get them in the cars?"

"Oh! Sure!"

* * *

The drive back home went smoothly and quickly compared to the drive towards the place.

"...Matt you've been looking at me for the past ten minutes what's up?"

"You cooled down?"

"...yes…"

"Good...so...you and Lammy huh? That was quite a duo!"

"I mean I guess. She was just saving my skin."

"You were pretty happy once she got her guitar in hand to an extra degree, and you can't use your excuse of being a fanboy."

"Can't deny that. I dunno. Just happy I could count on her again really." Matt just laughs "What?"

"You really have cooled down, you got through a sentence over the topic so...calmly without fidgeting every few seconds!"

"...I did didn't I?"

"Not to mention sang phenomenally. It's official. Parappa's back!"

"Hah...well I can't deny that. Come on let me get you guys home."

* * *

"Finally home...and it looks like I was barely faster than them." Parappa hops out of the car the same time his roommates do.

"Well it's safe to say tonight was a hell of a night! Right guys?" Parappa says looking at the three.

"Some ups and downs, but yeah! It was! And not to mention we got more adoring fans! And even bigger shots at getting people to know our name~ All thanks to you!" She boops him on the nose.

"Hehehey!"

("She's right though, if we thought we were big before, hoho boy are we now in for a shock.")

"And that's great! The sudden increase in popularity might be a hassle f-for me though…"

("You'll be fine! You were doing great back there from what we saw.")

"I don't think i'll have my guitar on me 24/7 even though I'd want to…"

"We could glue it on you!"

"Katy please…"

"I'm joking! That'd be killer on your wool…"

"You think?...You aren't one to joke that far…"

"Sorry i'm just so giddy and taken aback! This was just a great night! Although once I take my mind off of this, the exhaustion will probably kick in…"

"Let's get inside then before that happens, so you at least have something soft to keel over on!"

("Ain't saying no to that idea mutt!") Ma-san runs past the three of them and into the building before they can even move.

"You'd think the girl with a literal stick of dynamite on her head would be the one to keep going throughout the night, but no always the first one to hit the hay or just plainly veg out when out of stuff to do."

"I mean h-hey at least she keeps c-calm."

"Maybe the sleep is necessary to maintain her explosive personality? Can't burn out all in one place right?"

"Wishful thinking but hey! Ma-san is an enigma at times, and we're her own bandmates!"

"I find it n-nice as a compliment to our g-group dynamic."

"Agreed! It helps liven up a lot! Given energetic personality is our bands main flow."

"Yeah well right now that energy's needing a recharge ain't it? Come on." the three of them head inside and upon entering, the three of them just collapse onto the couch.

"Oof...man that energy in me died the second I set foot in here…"

"N-No kidding…"

"Luckily good old trusty couch is always here for everyone." the three simply sink deeper into the couch.

"I wanna go to bed but I don't wanna get uuuuuup…"

"Same…"Parappa and Lammy say in unison until Parappa speaks up "Why not just watch TV? Since we're plastered here and all." His only reply was the TV being turned on.

They spend the night simply watching, until the trio fell asleep on the couch. And that's how the days went by, just simple daily activities, some slight embarrassment here and there. But over all, they got used to it rather quickly. And in a span of four days no less!

"We're out of eggs."

"I'll buy em, need to get something else anyway for Tamanegi Sensei."

"T-The van has a flat tire!..."

("That's my bad, I'll fix it.")

"Some one go check on the laundry!"

"L-Leave it to me!"

("Hey looks like they'll be showing a classic movie on this channel later today.")

"MOVIE NIGHT!~"

Life sure seemed calm again, as if everything had finally settled down...but this is PaRappa Town after all. On the beginning of the fifth day, the true daily life cycle was about to begin.

"That movie last night may have been a classic, but man that doesn't mean it didn't have its heavy fair share of cliche tropes."

"Ugh, no kidding. Such old romance stereotypes all rolled up into it."

"I-It's like they had a wall with tons of them taped on it, and they just threw darts until they were satisfied…"

("Isn't that most modern cinema now a days?")

"Well yeah, but the movies of today don't have the excuse of being old Ma-san."

("So in other words, flat out terrible.")

"Bingo."

"Man where did movies go so wro-" Parappa is interrupted by his phone, he pulls it out of his pocket and see's that it's Chop Chop "Tamanegi? It's not time for me to head to work yet, I still got half an hour...wonder what he wants…" He accepts the call and holds it up to his ear "Hel-"

" _PARAPPA! YOUR ASSISTANCE IS GREATLY REQUIRED! I AM HAVING AN EMERGENCY AT THE CAFE, I HAVE ALREADY CONTACTED PJ. I NEED YOU AND PJ HERE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE!"_ he then hangs up.

"Lo…" He shuts off his phone and blasts out of the room in a miniature sonic boom.

"Wow...new record for bursting out of here…"

"What's the time?"

"One point six seconds!"

("If only he were that fast when it came to his turn to do the groceries.")

* * *

Parappa was running down the streets at such a rush he had realized he had forgotten to take his car, although he didn't really mind as he ran faster than what the car would've taken him. And not long after he catches up to PJ also running.

"You got the call from him to Parappa?"

"Yeah, the heck happened?!"

"Your guess is as good as mine. A lunch rush maybe? That's when he calls us over earlier than usual."

"I dunno, he's usually never that distressed…"

"Oh I'm sure he's fine. It can't be that…" Both him and Parappa stop upon witnessing a horrifying sight. A massive wave of people piled around the cafe that the duo worked at. So much so that they couldn't even fit in the poor building, and they piled and lined up into one ridiculously long line that lasted a few blocks away! One could miscount into thinking it was hundreds upon hundreds when in actuality it was about two hundred "Bad…"

"WHY ARE THERE SO MANY PEOPLE?! These guys aren't usual Parappa town citizens!"

"Hm...that's true but some of their faces seem familiar...why though. Neither of us have seen any of these people." As PJ states this, a good majority of the people on the nightmarish line call out.

"LOOK! IT'S PARAPPA RAPPA AND PJ BERRI!" The group immediately starts to cheer and even some people begin running towards them.

Both Parappa and PJ look at each other and state in unison "The club…" before running off.

"QUICK! THE BACK ENTRANCE!" Both run into the back door of the cafe where the kitchen is and immediately shut the door as the hear the people stampede on by.

"Ok...this sucks…"

"Yeah you're telling me. At least it's quiet in here...if you don't count the people roaring to be served at the counter in the next room."

"Gah...man we can't handle all these people!...Where's Tamanegi sensei?"

A cupboard opens up, revealing Chop Chop Master Onion the moment he's called for "Hai!"

"Sensei why are you hiding in there?"

"Yeah wasn't one of your teachings to stand in the face of adversity?"

"That is not adversity, that is a deathwish."

"Eh...true."

"Ok now you two are being ridiculous. It's just regular customers, only there's a surplus of them! Nothing changed." PJ crosses his arms and shakes his head at the two of them "Watch, it'll be simple." and with that said, he enters the next room.

"He will be missed." Chop Chop salutes the air.

"Tamanegi sensei have more faith in him! He'll be ok!" As if on cue PJ re enters the kitchen "That was fast! See? He's fine!"

PJ just gives a thousand yard stare before collapsing onto his back, with a snot bubble forming on his nose causing Parappa to run towards him

"OH NO!...THEY OVERLOADED HIM TO THE POINT THAT HE BEGAN STRESS SLEEPING!..."

"Then my dear friend and student, it is safe to say that we are doomed...Or maybe…" he rubs his chin.

"You have an idea?"

"I can manage at least…" He glances around the corner and views the populace "At least half. If you can managed the other half, we may make it out of this ok. We won't be overwhelmed by the customers or receive bad reviews for poor service!"

"I-I dunno if I can manage HALF of this tidal wave sensei…"

"PJ was correct, we must STAND our ground in adversity!"

"B-But!"

"NO BUTS!"

"...ok…"

"Relax my friend, you know what to do, just follow my teaching. And one thing that you always do."

"...yeah" Parappa clutches his hand into a fist "...I know!" determination burns in his eyes "...I GOTTA BELIEVE!" they head on over to behind the counter.

 _Stage 2: Chop Chop Fruits Cafe_

 **Lesson 1:**

" _Yes….Tamanegi back again…!"_

" _Haiiiiyatatatatatata-chaaaa!"_

" _KICK! PUNCH! CHOP! And now we're back again!_

 _To which I must say, hello my friend."_

" _You see, I say that me and you are trapped here,_

 _But it's time to blow away all that fear!"_

" _Order, Chop!"_ Chop Chop swipes and grabs the customers in his vicinity written orders.

"Order, Chop!" Parappa follows the example.

" _Crowd, Swerve!"_ Chop chop slips through the gaps among the customers.

"Crowd, Swerve!" Parappa dives under the clustered people due to his size.

" _Counter, Dive!"_

"Counter, Dive!" They leaps over the counter.

" _Order, Serve!"_.

"Order, Serve!" They sets plates under the tacked on orders.

" _Dough, Punch!"_

"Dough, Punch!" They begin kneading the dough.

" _Shake, Mix!"_

"Shake, Mix!"

" _Deco- Rate!"_

"Deco- Rate!" the decorate the cakes, pies, shakes and drinks

" _Caffi-nate!"_

"Caffi-nate!" They pour out coffee and tea in the piled up cups.

 **Lesson 2:**

" _There's so much to make and so much to do!_

 _Can we pull it off, I don't know do you?"_

" _We work and we bake till we get it all done,_

 _Yet there's still those that are waiting so we must run!"_

" _You see we have the orders for all two hundred, and seven!_

 _Now we must unite them for a match made in heaven!"_

The burst out from the kitchen on skates.

" _Skate on through."_

"Skate on through!"

" _Out of the blue."_

"Out of the blue!"

" _Juggle your plates!"_

"Juggle my plates!" the skating duo begin juggling their confectionaries, pleasing the audience, but not Chop Chop's or Parappa's stress level.

" _Toss your treats!"_

"Toss my treats!" They chuck the plates like frisbee's, landing them flawlessly in front of each patron who ordered them, without anything falling off or over.

" _Kick, stop on by."_

"Kick, stop on by!" they stop at a table loaded with people.

" _Here is your pie."_

"Here are your pies!"

" _Kick on, Re-wind."_

"Kick on, Re-wind!" the roll backwards a table opposite to the previous one.

" _Here's the parfait."_

"Here's your parfait!"

Both spin as the try to avoid each other and the customers before heading on the opposite sides of the room, beginning to pick up their momentum as well as rate of "handing" out the orders.

" _It's what we do or donut."_

"It's what we do or donut!"

" _Quick-kick to, pass the shake."_

"Quick-kick to, pass the shakes!" Both punt the many glasses of shakes towards their intended customers, who miraculously catch it without spilling anything.

" _Swift-punch more, Hors d'oeuvres."_

"Swift-punch more, Hors d'oeuvres!"

" _Jelly, Chocolate or Tapioca."_

"Jelly, Chocolate and Tapioca!"

" _Don't forget the cake!"_

"Can't forget the cake!" The duo manage to handle the ongoing mass of people by handling multiple orders at once.

 **Lesson 3:**

" _Hand to hand and face to face, none of what we do or make is ever a waste!_

 _Simple measures to handle, and steps to take, so that everyone gets to have a taste!"_

" _All of what we make, will always satisfy,_

 _With heart and determination you can-not deny!"_

" _It's time to continue the way of tamanegi,_

 _Here we go again, hope all of you are ready!"_

" _Swerve, dive, kick and punch to serve!"_

"Swerve, dive, kick and punch to serve!"

" _Juggle, jump, chop and toss what they earn!"_

"Juggle, jump, chop and toss what they earn!"

" _Ice cream, coffee or strawberry cake."_

"Ice cream, coffee and strawberry cake!"

" _Fruit juice, tea and don't forget the chocolate shake!"_

"Fruit juice, tea and don't forget the chocolate shake!"

" _Pose and attend them, by the dozen!"_

"Pose and attend them, by the dozen!"

" _Kick punch style, straight from the oven."_

"Kick punch style, straight from da oven!"

" _I will make you make you make you all say-"_

"I'mma make you make you make you all say!-"

" _Tamanegi-negi Tamanegi sensei!"_

"Tamanegi-negi Tamanegi sensei!"

 **Lesson 4:**

" _Here we go now! We're more than halfway done._

 _Don't ask us how, but can't stop till the day is won!"_

" _We have rode the wave of people here and there._

 _Shows that our prowess can truly reach everywhere!"_

" _Now let's go while we remain intact._

 _Get ready my friend, it's time for the final act!"_

" _Kick kick, punch jump chop!"_

"Kick kick, punch jump chop!"

" _Our service...will always be top!"_

"Our service...always gonna top!"

" _Chop juggle, punch punch dive!"_

"Chop juggle, punch punch dive!"

" _We're almost done now, so look alive!"_

"We're almost done here, better look alive!"

" _Keep it going, so we can take ease!"_

"Keep it going, so we can take ease!"

" _Do you understand? Do you know what I mean?"_

"Do I understand? Do I know what you mean?"

" _Do you feel satisfied...or freed?"_

"Do I feel satisfied...or freed?"

" _Take a look around you...and see!"_

"Take a look around me...and see!"

" _We have done truly done it, you and me!"_

"We really did! You and me!"

" _HAIIIIIYATATATATATA-CHAAAAA!"_ They end it as the roll backwards over the counter, exhausted.

"I can't believe we pulled it off sensei…"

"To be truthful myself, I did not have much faith either…"

"But we did...we handled all two hundred and….eight? Wait...weren't there only two hundred and seven?"

"Hai?..."

"Then where'd this order come from?!"

"Yo." a voice from above the counter calls. As Parappa gets up, he sees Leo.

"DUDE! ARE YOU THE REASON EVERYONE CAME HERE?!"

"Chill man. And no, they found that out themselves. They simply invited me over, and I was like 'well it would be nice to see Parappa again...and I do have a sweet tooth…', but I saw how many people piled on and decided to leave you be. And then I saw you actually managed so I decided…'well...i'll give it another shot.' And so here I am."

"I-I-I-I-I…."

"A chocolate donut with coffee please."

"Here." Parappa looks towards the hand giving the order, PJ had finally woken up.

"Thanks! Guess i'll be on my way!" And with that, Leo leaves the premises.

"Oh man that was a nice nap...and it looks like you guys did it! I think I'll help myself to some cake…"

"PLEASE!..." Parappa runs to the corner of the room.

"NO MORE ORDERS!..." Chop Chop follows suit.

As if on cue, the customers began speak amongst one another.

"Not only is the place the spot where both Parappa and PJ work! But the dishes served here are remarkably delectable!"

"And the service is on point! You don't get much of that anywhere these days!"

"I'll have to make this a daily thing!"

"Agreed! I'll come here every day!"

"Yeah!"

"Me to!"

"I as well!"

"Possibly forever!"

The chat reached the ears of Parappa and Chop Chop as they began sweating bullets.

"C-Come here…?"

"E-Every single day…?"

'P-Possibly _FOREVER?!"_ they both shout in unison.

"N-NO! I-I CAN'T TAKE THAT!"

"ME TO! I-I'M GOING ON BREAK! A VERY VERY LONG ONE!" Chop Chop runs away screaming as he breaks through the wall, leaving a hole in the shape of his body.

"W-WAIT FOR ME TAMANEGI SENSEI…!" Parappa follows his example and is off in hot pursuit.

PJ just stares at the Parappa and Tamanegi shaped holes in awe "To think business would end up booming in this little cafe of ours...Oh boy this might be a problem…"

 _The Next Day…_

* * *

The following day at Chop Chop Fruits cafe, earlier than usual.

"Oh you have NO idea how thankful I am to have your guy's help…"

"You sure seem like you've seen angels at your doorstep when we offered man." Matt says as he helps PJ in the kitchen.

"Him AND Tamanegi, he was practically bowing and kneeling and everything!" Paula says as she organizes the tables with Parappa.

"Why didn't you just ask your roomies to help instead?"

"Lammy and Katy work at a music store already, and Ma-san recently started to work at her dad's pharmacy. Besides they're already busy enough as is. I wouldn't wanna add MORE things to their schedule."

"I getcha, sorry man."

"It's fine Matt, i'm just glad you guys can help. You two also don't have to stay the entire time. I'm sure this will be enough for us to handle the rest."

"If you say so. Of course with what you say you had to go through yesterday, I'll count it as a blessing in disguise to be able to leave, but I might still stay a bit to give you a hand."

"Same here. Every extra pair of hands makes the difference!"

"Thanks you two. PJ! How's the stock coming along?"

"Fine, but we're running low on ingredients...hope Tamanegi gets here soon...otherwise we might have a shortage..."

"You don't think he bailed so he wouldn't have to deal with this again do you?"

"Tamanegi would never do that Paula!...would he?"

"OF COURSE NOT! I was simply busy gather supplies." Chop Chop says as he arrives at the front entrance.

"Tamanegi! Why did it take you so loooo….." Parappa simply stares at the massive pile of supplies behind him.

"I believe it is safe to say that we are prepared. Would you not agree my friend?"

"Ya-huh…." Parappa stays nodding, astounded at how overly prepared his sensei decided to be.

"Good! Not help me get these inside!"

"R-Right away sir!" Both Paula and Parappa say as they begin.

* * *

The day was about as packed as the yesterday, only the crowd was much more tame thankfully, due to a sign that Chop Chop had added to the front of the facility. _No service for the wild, untamed and overbearing._

"Phew what a day...I can only imagine what these two went through yesterday while these guys weren't so calm…" Paula simply sighed as she collected the plates that were left on the tables.

Suddenly the last few remaining customers begin speaking as they get up to leave.

"Deciding to come here to eat at either breakfast or lunch was probably the best choice i've made."

"It might also be good to come here later in the day, who knows!"

"They seemed to have gotten new help to! And she's such a treat to the eyes! Pulls off being cute and beautiful at the same time very well! Makes me jealous!"

"Agreed! She certainly would be a highlight to the atmosphere here!"

As Paula overhears this, stars sparkle in her eyes as she runs towards the counter and immediately yells at Parappa "I WANT A JOB HERE!"

"Wh-Wh-Whoa what-"

"You're hired!" Tamanegi simply nods as he gives a thumbs up before walking off.

"W-WHAT?!"

"Great! You won't be disappointed with me!"

"P-Paula are you sure?.."

"I've never been more sure! I'm certain I wanna work here!"

"I uh...ok then…"

"Welcome aboard! If only Matt had your moxie, but he turned and ran the second he saw the stampede!" PJ chuckles as he walks back towards the kitchen.

As the customers walked out the door. "Oh my look at that! I didn't realize Parappa and her were an item!"

"It explains why she's probably here! Poor girl probably thought the people here would try to take him from her!" They walk off completely misinterpreting the situation "We have to tell the others to back off next time we're here! For her sake!" and thus the gossip and rumors begin.

"Well Paula, would you like to stay for the remainder of the work day or leave for the day? You start your first real day tomorrow."

"Hm...I think I'll call it a day."

"Alrighty, thanks to you,having four people here now means we can actually afford to be here on the intended time rather than hours earlier."

"Glad to hear it." She giggles as she bats her hair away to get get powder from the sweets off of it "I'm happy I was able to lighten the workload! Right?"

"Right…" Parappa says, transfixed at how the evening light glimmered off of her from the windows while she was batting her hair, not her intention, but it still caught his eye.

"You ok?"

"Yeah….erm...I mean yeah! Sorry got a bit distracted…"

"I guess being able to rest easy again while at work does that to you!"

"Y-Yeah haha...t-that's it…" _What the heck caused that in me this time?_

"Well I'm off, you two take care and I'll see you tomorrow!"

"You take care to!..."

"Later initial P." Paula rolls her eyes with a smile as PJ calls her by her old nickname, and leaves the cafe thereafter.

PJ then walks up to Parappa once he's sure she's far away "Soooo, mind telling me what that gawking was about?" A sly smile spread across his face.

"I have no idea what you're talking about…"

"Ahem" PJ begins mimicking Parappa's reaction in the most over exaggerated way possible "Right…" PJ says drawn out as his eyes open wide while he stares at the front entrance.

"I was NOT that dazed!"

"But you admit you were in general."

"...I hate how you always do that…"

"You and Katy make it soooooo sososo easy to."

"Not our fault, you had years to learn about us."

"A fact which I am glad for, but that's not the point. What was that about anyway?"

"Nothing guess I was just tired."

"I know tired, and that wasn't it. You were focused on something."

"No I wasn't!"

"Then explain the staring!"

"She's PRETTY ok? Paula's always been known to have a unique style that grabs the attention greatly!"

"I won't deny that, but that was more than simple admiration. You were transfixed by her. A first time for it to."

"Guess it was what she-"

"She wore her usual clothes dude, can't weasel your way out of this."

"...She just...looked really nice ok?"

"Dude, I'm your best friends...actually we're basically brothers at this point. Can you seriously not trust me enough to talk to me over this kind of stuff? You know I won't just tell anyone! It's not in me to gossip."

"I...you're right...I'm sorry…"

"You don't need to apologize, just don't be afraid to let the bottled stuff out. It ain't good to keep in."

Parappa sighs, unable to deny PJ's words "Right...ok...she was beautiful alright? But...I dunno if it was just the scenery...or lighting...or I dunno...cuz I didn't see it earlier today while she was helping us...at least...I think?...Maybe I was just to distracted to notice...because once I did notice...it felt as if I was seeing it the entire time…"

"Heh...I get what you mean." PJ leans forward and rests his arms on the counter besides him "What you described shows that you have SOME amount of feelings towards her, it isn't a crush or infatuation" _yet_ "So you don't have to panic about being in love." _again, yet_ "It's just mild attraction towards her. That ain't so bad. And hey even still, like you say, she may not even feel the same way."

"But the thing is...It's the same for the other three girls you know?"

"What I said still applies to them as well, and you know that as much as I do."

"Yeah...thanks. You were right...I do feel a bit better."

PJ smiles as he plucks off his beanie with one hand and ruffles his hair with the other "I'm glad you are man, and don't be afraid to talk to me about this sorta thing again."

"H-Hey!...why'd you do that for!"

"Because I can and it seemed like the proper thing to do."

"Yeah well!..." PJ rolls his eyes, but upon looking at Parappa, he's smiling with a single tear across his face "I'm glad you did."

"Yeah I'm glad to." He pulls him in for a one armed hug.

Tamanegi just watches from the back of the kitchen "Yes yes, brothers not by blood, but bond. No stronger connection even exists to compete with such a bond."

* * *

"I'm back."

"Hey! It's just me here." Katy says with a wave as she greets him "You were a little later than usual, what happened?"

"Ah, just spending some time with PJ."

"Sleeping?"

"No. Actual time spent doing stuff."

"Oh is that so? Well that's nice. Beats my day, yesterday me and Lammy had to deal with a massive tidal wave of customers. We managed thanks to using the manager as a meatshield. Today they were more tame and easier to handle, but man is it still to much…"

"Same here…"

"That explains why I found you in fetal position on the couch yesterday!"

"You weren't any better! You were trying to do the same thing I did!"

"You can't prove thaaaat." She chuckles "Alright alright, but hey we managed then AND today. Guess popularity has its drawbacks, but it's not enough to keep us down!"

"Leo told you that they found out where we worked to?"

"Yep."

"He could've at least tried to stop them."

"He could've, but if you were in his position. Could you?"

"...good point…" He shudders after imagining being in Leo's place, having to deal with all that mess "Well I'm glad you managed on your own! Me, PJ and Tamanegi needed Matt and Paula's help…"

"No shame in needing assistance, besides I feel a cafe is much more hectic to run than a music store."

"Probably so, I guess Paula probably thought the same."

"What?"

"Yeah she asked if she could have a job there and BOOM she's hired. Now we're fellow employees."

"Oh is that so. Well that's neat. Extra hands help."

"That's what she said. And I'm thankful!"

"Bet you are, so now what are you gonna do?"

"I dunno, gotta get used to dealing with so many people. PJ handles the kitchen and counter duty with Tamanegi, so that leaves the tables to me and Paula. It shouldn't be to bad if we spread work evenly."

"I mean out of work silly."

"Oh!...I dunno...I don't got much to do recently...hm...actually…" Parappa pulls out his cellphone and begins calling his father.

" _Hello?"_

"Hey dad."

" _OH! Hello son! Whatcha need?"_

"That Inventors Expo...you...still wanna go?"

" _...Do you?"_

"Of course! I'm...sorry about before."

" _Nah don't worry! One problem, it's still a couple of days away."_

"Aw...I can wait! At least it means we can go in general!"

" _Then I'll tell ya the day prior so you can get ready!"_

"Thanks dad! Love ya."

" _Anytime! And love you to son!"_ Parappa hangs up.

"Well that was cute! But you still gotta wait a few days, you're currently still empty between then."

"Oh come on now! This is PaRappa Town! Something's bound to keep me entertained!"

"When you word it like that, it sounds more bothersome then entertaining…" She sits down onto the couch.

"Relax! I'll be fine with whatever happens! And besides, you guys got my back right?" he sits right next to her, performing a slightly reassuring nod.

"You're right. Sorry, recent events just make me all the more protective of you."

"You and PJ both! Geez you're like my mom and dad away from mom and dad." He sticks his tongue out at her.

"Well sorry for caring! You've just been a hectic lil guy is all!" She sticks her tongue towards him in retaliation.

"I am not!" He leans closer blowing a raspberry.

"Are to!" She leans closer blowing her own back at him.

The two grown adults acting like children keep this going until they lean a tad to close.

"MPPH…"

It wasn't a kiss, but still, their tongues touching is most certainly not an outcome either would've wanted. And like children they're currently stubbornly acting as, they respond in tow as such.

"BLEGH…."

"ERGH….." Both begin spitting and wiping their tongues profusely.

"Augh...that wasn't a fun outcome…"

"Ick...you're telling me…"

"Sorry Katy…"

"No it's...it's my fault, I got a bit to heated that I acted like a spoiled brat…"

"I wasn't any better…"

"Let's just agree that we're both at fault."

"I'm totally ok with that." They shake their hands and give a quick nod. Then after both begin to try and break conversation by trying to escape each other.

"Well I'm heading to my room, I'm gonna try to plan my days out in case nothing happens after all. Call if you need anything."

"Yeah that's cool, I'll call when it's time to set up dinner, right now Ma-san and Lammy went out to buy the stuff to prepare for it."

"Ah so that's where they are...well ok then! For now see ya!"

"See ya!"

The second Parappa closes the door, he immediately collapses onto the ground, bewildered at what just happened. _I am an IDIOT...the hell was wrong with me?! If I was anymore stubborn in accepting her aide I might have accidentally ended up kissing her!...and who knows what would've happened from there!_ Parappa then begins imagining a rather overexaggerated end result.

" _BLEGH…y-you...kissed me!..."_

" _I-It was an accident!..."_

" _Oh I just BET it was…!"_

" _I-I'm serious!...I-I think…"_

" _YOU THINK?"_

" _I-I'm sorry!..."_

" _Oh you're GONNA be sorry!"_

" _I-Is everything alright? W-We could hear the yelling from outside…"_

" _Guys! Parappa just straight out of the blue KISSED me!"_

 _("I knew the mutt was sneakily planning something!")_

" _T-That's not true Ma-san! I-It was an accident-"_

" _P-Parappa...I-I didn't think you'd be just like Joe…"_

" _L-Lammy not you to!...P-Please...y-you gotta believe- W-Wait wait what're you doing?...H-Hey p-put me down!..."_

" _GET OUT AND STAY OUT!..."_ Katy proceeds to chuck Parappa out the door, followed by all his stuff being thrown right after ontop of him. As he plucks his head from under the pile, the last thing he sees is a blue cat face-shaped bass, a gold guitar and a bass drum smash into his face, snapping him out of his delusion.

"That...would've been bad…" Parappa falls onto his back groaning "I hope she isn't upset at me…"

Meanwhile however, unbeknownst to him, the second he closed the door, Katy had a near similar reaction. _I am an IDIOT...what the hell was I thinking? Why didn't I just LET him have his space?! I almost accidentally KISSED him… Wait...oh god...d-did I subconsciously WANT to do that?!...I only did it once to help!...but he didn't know about that one...so if it did happen again here...W-Who knows what would've happened from there!..._ Katy begins dreaming up her own overexaggerated fantasy.

" _WAUGH...D..Did you just KISS me?!..."_

" _I-It was an accident!...I swear!..."_

" _It was an accident, I swear!...YEAH RIGHT…I bet this is what you were PLANNING right from the start!"_

" _I-I wasn't!"_

" _Leading me here with the belief that everything was fine after the whole Sunny ordeal, but here I learn YOU were just trying to take me for yourself!"_

" _N-No that's not it!...I-I think…"_

" _You THINK?!"_

" _I'm SORRY!..."_

" _Oh you're GONNA be sorry!"_

" _(What's going on in here?!)"_

" _Hey Ma-san! Lammy! Were you guys in on Katy's plan?!"_

 _("Katy's plan?")_

" _Yeah! Turns out the only reason she brought me here was just so she could hit on me!"_

 _("That's not right, I thought you were trying to help the guy!")_

" _K-Katy...how could you…"_

" _T-That's not true!...I-Is it?..."_ Katy quickly bows her head in apology, but upon looking back up, she sees the three of them. Parappa holding Boxy Boy, Lammy holding her guitar, and Ma-san her bass drum. Immediately after seeing this, the three swing their items directly at her face, prompting her to wake up.

"There's no way that could've turned out worse…" She buries her face in her hands "Ohhh...he's probably upset at me…that's probably why he ran towards his room…"

Then they both say in unison "I gotta fix this!" Katy runs off towards Parappa's room as he opens the door to leave towards her. This causes Katy to trip and crash into Parappa, this time resulting in what they wanted to avoid. Needless to say, the following moments involved a profuse amount of apologizing and tears in distress thinking the other hated them.

"I'M SORRY I'M SORRY, PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!-...wait...hate you?...W-Why would I?...i-it was an accident...right?...of course!...I just wanted to make sure you didn't hate me for the other thing...saying it was an accident and that thankfully it wasn't another outcome...then it was said outcome...hehe...uh...mums the word?~.." after saying an exact word for word apology they simply nod and hug it out. Once they separate, both stay a bit fidgety until Parappa speaks up.

"Heh...well uh...sorry...for kissing you still...probably not the guy you'd ever even wanna do that with heh…"

"Oh nonono don't you worry about that! It's not like you were my first or anything!" _why did I just say that out loud…_

"Oh well that's good! At least I have the comfort in knowing I wasn't the jerk who accidentally took your first kiss!"

"Haha...yeah...that'd sure be funny wouldn't it…" _I don't know if it makes me happy or upset that you don't know that you WERE my first...just not from this specific kiss...I wonder…_ "I mean…" _say itttttt._ "I...k-k…"

"Hmmm?"

"K-Ki…" _I am the biggest wimp I swear…_ "K-Kinda wouldn't mind if you did kiss me!..." _Oh my fu...how did THAT end up leaving my mouth...and why did it sound even WORSE than what I was trying to say!..._

"W-What?...R-Really?..."

 _That response did not sound reassuring...Quick! Don't just look at him! Explain yourself! Maybe there's a slight chance you can win him over!_ "H-Hahahahahaha! You know! Like a kiss on the cheek or forehead! Y-You know! Like familial siblings and all that! Like we are Hahahah!..." Katy could only mentally facepalm. _And I wonder why he still treats me like a sister…_

"Oh! I getcha! You had me going there for a sec." a normal person would've immediately caught on to her fumbling words, luckily (or unluckily) this was Parappa, so he bought it. "I mean I'm cool with that as long as it means nothing and is just that, a family thing.

"Ha….yeah...i'm such a jokester…and good...cuz that's what I want to..." _Why is this so hardddd...What am I all flustered over?!...If I get my reply here and now I can finally be done with this...I guess I'm just scared over the no...or am I scared if he says yes?..._

She shakes her head to refocus "Point is! Don't worry alright? If..and again IF this happens again, it'll be like it was now, an accident! No need to worry! It won't mean anything between us alright?"

"O-K!" _Phew...massive bullet avoided...but…why did my stomach turn once she brought up the family thing?...I'm not UPSET over this am I?...Do I want it to mean something? I did start to heat up when she just said that she didn't mind if I kissed her...but.._ Parappa immediately recalls PJ's words.

" _It's just mild attraction towards her. That ain't so bad. And hey even still, like you say, she may not even feel the same way."_

 _But…_

"Hey Parappa something still bugging you?..."

 _I want her to feel the same way…I want...all of them to...a-all of them?!...W-What's wrong with me?_

"You look like you're a bit...sick?..."

 _.I can't do that...what kinda sick guy am I?...Maybe I can...stop those bad ideas...If I ask her and only her?..._

"No...or maybe something is? H-Hey...if by chance-"

 _Is this the right thing to do?..._

They hear a door slam open from the main room.

("WE'RE BACK!")

"Oh! Ma-san and Lammy returned finally! Uh...I gotta go help get stuff ready. What were you gonna say?"

"...Nah it's nothing important."

"You sure?...you can tell me after-"

"Noooo it's really nothing! I was just thinking about random stuff. No need to bore or annoy you with my ramblings."

"Oooook…well, I'll call you when the foods ready."

"Ok! Hopefully by then I'll have something thought over for the next couple of days!"

"I'd be all ears till then!"

"Ok!" She leaves his room and closes the door, leaving him in isolation. _I can't...I just can't...up out of the blue just SAY anything of that sort to her...or ANY of them!...so what do I do?..._ Parappa recalls his years with Sunny, the joy of being with her, although it didn't start out that way. In fact before the whole noodle problem, their relationship was one sided as he worked to improve himself for her sake, only for her to realize he already was and then some. Then it hit him, he took things step by step with her to see if it started anything. _So by that logic...it should work with them!...I-I'll work up bit by bit with all of em! And if I see any of it actually getting somewhere with one of them...I'll...try to pop the question to that specific one...to see if they...like me in that way...Man this is such a terrible idea, but it's...all I have to get this mess within me sorted out…_

" _I just don't want anyone mistaking my good buddy Parappa the Rapper as Parappa the Player."_ these words ring heavily in Parappa's head, did PJ know it would come to this?

"That's not how I'll let this end. I don't want to hurt any of em...I just hope none of them hurt me either. I...gotta run this over with PJ. I won't do this stupid plan if he says not to."

 _When did I become so starved for love? I don't like it..._


	8. Burden from the Past and Future

The next morning after Parappa ate breakfast, he immediately hightailed it to PJ's to inform him on his idea who only replied with.

"You're right, that is the most idiotic idea I have ever heard, it's terrible and you'd break four hearts just by breaking one."

"I...had a feeling that'd be the end result."

"That being said carry it out."

"Yeah...wait what...but you just!-"

"I said the plan you brought up was terrible, what you're doing now is not."

"What I'm doing now?..."

"Being yourself. That's what won over Sunny in the end isn't? So don't force yourself to try and get something out if it. You'll just end up being an ass. Just be yourself and I'm sure you'll catch one of them." _I mean that's how they fell in love with you to begin with! Just keep doing that and eventually one of them will crack and say they love you...or at the very least be more emotive to the point you can take a hint and ask her out._ "After all, classic you is just the best guy to wanna be with period. No need to try and adjust to someone's liking to try and see if somethings there. Especially between four different girls."

"...You're right...I hadn't thought of it that way…"

 _Yeah no kidding, you almost did the exact opposite from your panic._ "I noticed. But hey, at least you told me so you dodged that stupidity bullet!"

"Yeah...man I'm glad...if you hadn't reassured me yesterday over the fact that it was fine to talk to you over this kinda stuff...I would've done so many idiotic things…"

"I'm glad as well." _More so than you can even imagine…_ "You still seemed stressed though...we have a few hours before our shift starts...wanna head back over to Leo's club to destress?"

"I dunno…"

"We'll be back before our job opens its doors, I promise you."

"...Alright, let's go."

* * *

"Hehehey if it ain't the men of the hour!...really...early? What's up with that?"

"Parappa needed to get stuff off his mind."

"Well i'm sorry to inform you that the club is kinda...closed today."

"What. Why?"

"Some weird guy's been spotted around kinda upbruting any source of music. Weird offers and whatnot? Anywho the police told me it'd be best if I keep it closed for a day or two till the aforementioned dude leaves. For my 'safety' or whatever. However you guys are still allowed in, I can spare the time to chat...actually I'd rather do that...I'm bored out of my mind...seeing as i'll be left without anything to do…"

"Well that's up to Parappa, I offered this to him in the first place."

'Actually...sure, I'd like more input on the stuff that's been in my head."

"Great! I'd be glad to listen! I'll get some drinks and snacks set! But come in come in! Don't just wait out here!" They follow him inside into his own personal area. Taking seats as they wait for him to return.

"Leo is such a strange dude don't you agree Parappa?"

"I mean kinda? But he's by no means a bad dude, just an awkward one. Besides he's trying to help me to."

"Yeah I guess…"

"I'm back! Not sure if you gentlemen enjoy the rather risque drinks or alcoholic beverages, so I just brought tea. And for snacks I bought a box of donuts, but I didn't plan to eat em all, so having you three here helps!"

"Did you plan for someone to come join you?"

"What? No don't be ridiculous...Who the heck can predict that? I just thought I'd make the most of my day since I'm gonna be bored out of my mind."

"Alright…" PJ drops the topic, but remains wary.

"So Parappa, what's bugging you?"

"Well see here...um...wait...aren't you gonna...take your helmet off? You know to eat?..."

"Oh uh...can't...do that with people around…"

"But it's just us…"

"Still someone."

"Uh huh...Just let him Parappa, keep going."

"Ok...well...I recently came to a mini conclusion with myself...and it's that I...may...have started seeing my four female friends in a different light…"

"Oh? Sounds like someone is in looooooooove!...with...four different women...huh...I see the conundrum…"

"Yeah...I just dunno if it is love...but the thing is...I may...want one of em to look at me in that manner...and...I dunno how so I thought up something that would involve me figuring that out...PJ shot down the idea…between the four of em...I can't exactly just ask one if that's the case, or all of them if multiple were to think of me as such...that'd make me feel terrible. I just wanna know if the answer I get is...something good you know? Something that just...works. Heck i'd even take a quadruple 'not interested' cuz at least that's SOMETHING to me...sure ends my confusion quicker...but yeah my original idea to do something with that was a bad one."

"Was it stupid?"

"It was beyond stupid, luckily I told him."

"Hm...you're single right?"

"Yeah...since last year…"

"And that's what caused you to...stay 'down low'? Correct?"

"Yes…"

"How...was that relationship?"

"How was it?...It was the best I ever had!...She was amazing...she was…" Parappa started getting lost in thoughts on explaining, however…

"She was just the best...she kept me in check...and all that...she was smooth in any conversation...yet fumbled from time to time...but still would try to get the point across. She was brash and in your face...thick headed just like me...yet also not entirely so as to keep me from doing stupid stuff...multi talented...groovin...headstrong...cool...can play anything...can sing heavenly...can dance to anything...can do just about anything...fiery...yet collected…she was everything in one...flawless...gorgeous...perfect..."

"Uh oh…" PJ took notice of something odd.

"I see. Well...she was quite the girl."

"She was…"

"Um...if I may interject...Dude...I think I see the problem…"

"What is it?..."

"Everything you described about Sunny...if you break it down...that's...qualities that the other four girls basically are...just seperated…"

"That's why you have attraction to the other four! Cuz together they remind you of her!...oh…oh dear that's...actually pretty bad…"

"I don't want to fall in love if it's cuz of that! I'd flat out feel like the most terrible person alive! I'd wanna fall in love with any other person for who THEY specifically are! Not for who they remind me of!...Aw man my stomach…" Parappa clenches his gut in pure disgust with himself.

"Well...now that you figured that out...how's your head?"

"Immediately ejected the thoughts...After one last overlook...you guys were right…I wanna be in a relationship again...fall in love again...but not like that..."

"Sorry man…"

"Don't be sorry! This is actually good!"

"And how is me being in complete and utter disgust with myself good?"

"You said it yourself! If you wanna fall in love with the girl, it's gotta be for who THEY are! So...do just that! If you truly wanna see if you can love again. Learn about the true girl! You still have the four options you know? But for now! Do what PJ told you! Being yourself! That alone will get you to see them for their true self as they gain attraction towards YOUR true self!"

"...You're right!"

"Wa-wa-wait now...I never told you I said that to him."

"Oh uh...well...it's rather obvious isn't it?...You're his best friend in probably the whole world! The stories of you two being near akin to brothers are rampant...I figure that's something you'd say!...wouldn't you?"

"...You may have a point there...still...that's to lucky a guess…"

"Lucky guess or not, he does have a point! I...might wanna hold back on the love for now...I thought I'd be done feeling hatred towards myself but now that resurfaced like I feared...but not like the magnitude as before! And once I shake it off...I'm gonna give it a shot. But the typical Parappa way. By seeing all she is for who she is, and if they enjoy me for all of me. Thanks Leo! Come on PJ let's go back!"

"Yeah...let's…"

"Well glad I could help you two! Come again if need be!"

"We will!" As the two leave the room, PJ stops Parappa once they're out of Leo's range of hearing "You go on ahead...I actually wanna talk to Leo abit more…"

"Hungry for those donuts huh man?"

"Yeah...that's it…"

"Alright just don't take to long! We still got work to think about."

"I won't I won't." As Parappa runs off, PJ sneaks back into the room, but Leo isn't in the main one "Hm...he wasted no time now did he…"

PJ begins sneaking around in order to find the club owner "Something about this guy just isn't right...he knew way to many proper answers...and to many lucky 'guesses' to have not planned for this…i'm gonna find out just what his deal is..."

After continued searching, PJ spots a slightly opened door with light peeking out. Upon pushing it slightly more open, he hears Leo on the other side eating, and then sees Leo's helmet on the ground right in reach "Hm...can't exactly get a good Look at you...and you'd probably cover yourself if I just went barging in...so let's get you to come out." He swipes the helmet and returns the door to its original position and then stands completely still by the side of the door.

"Huh?...the heck's my helmet? Could've sworn I left in here with me...did I leave outside the door?..." As Leo opens the door, PJ grabs him and pulls him out towards the main room "H-HEY! L-LET ME GO! P-PJ? WHAT THE HELL?..."

"Oh i'll let you go in just a bit…" Upon reaching the main room, he tosses Leo into the center onto the ground. The light now illuminating Leo, his appearance catching PJ off guard, even slightly creeping him out. Leo was a cat, a blue furred cat. He had blonde hair, the part on the back of his head was outfitted into a ponytail, but the part in front by the side of his face looked like dog ears. His hair was blonde, however the hair by the top of his head to the ponytail was a bit of a dark blonde shade, similar to Katy's hair color, but the base that made the pseudo ears were a lighter shade of blonde, matching Parappa's. Leo looked back at PJ, scowling. If PJ wasn't completely focused as to who he had thrown on the ground, he could swear he was staring directly at Katy "Dude I think taking the fanboy approach a bit to far don't you think?"

"What?..."

"Don't what me! What kind of sick appearance is this?!"

"Oh gee sorry I was born with this face and hair…"

"Born with it? Haha no, there's no way you'd be born with the near similar face as one of my best friends…"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night to believe...believe what you wish...you won't even be seeing this face for much longer anyway…"

"Pfft, like i'd just GIVE you your helmet back! You're gonna explain to me-" While PJ continues rambling on, Leo simply holds up three fingers, then two, then one. And once he puts down the final finger, his face and body start to fritz up exactly like television static, and suddenly his whole appearance changes. He is now a light orange fox. The pseudo ears are still there and blonde, but now the ponytail is gone, and the hair on the top half of his head was now pink. It was like looking at a mirror image of Paula. PJ was mortified. "What the absolute fu-..."

"Just give me my helmet...I won't put it on…" PJ warringly complies, and as Leo takes the helmet, he pulls out a photo from the inside "Before I show you this. I'm...gonna tell you my real name...and under no circumstances are you to tell ANYONE…"

"Why would I agree to that?..."

"Would people believe what you saw?"

"...fine…"

"Thanks….Uncle PJ…"

"I'm sorry did you just call me-"

"My name...is Europa Rappa…I am…" he sighs "As it should be obvious enough...Parappa's...son…"

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Thought you'd say that...here." He hands him the photo, the picture shocks him far more than Leo's face. In the photo he sees his entire group of friends...a tad older. He sees himself, sleeping on a chair with a title scribbled on above his head in the photo.

 _My Uncle PJ._

He quickly spotted a slightly older Matt, who also had the title of Uncle as well as Parappa's dad with the title Grandpa. Parappa himself was in the middle of the photo with the title.

 _My dad._

On his shoulders appears to be a smaller version of Leo. When it came to inspecting the girls of his friend group however...that's when things started getting weird...Sweety Bancha was right next to his sleeping counterpart in the photo with the title Auntie Sweety. Strangely enough, there's another girl he couldn't exactly recall. She looked like Lammy! But with all darker colors in body tone title Auntie...Rammy? Then when it came to review the others...everyone except Paula had the title Auntie as well. Paula however had the title.

 _My mom._

Then suddenly Leo held up three fingers again and began counting down once more. Upon hitting zero, he was now an orange sheep. The blonde part of his hair now engulfs a bit more of his head leaving the top half of his head with red hair rather short, resembling Lammy's style. Who he coincidentally looked like, down to the horns even!

As PJ looked down at the photo, he was now even more confused. The title for Paula was now, Auntie Paula as Lammy now held the title of My mom. Through his bewilderment, PJ recalls something both Matt and Leo said upon the night they first came here.

" _You've had a streak as a singer, dancer and guitar player, but are no stranger to other instruments such as piano or drums! Not to mention you can remix like no other DJ from what they say! And you're even quite adept at soccer and basketball!"_

" _Oh that's just the tabloids...honestly I really only dabble in those things cuz of my family...hehe...they piled a lot on me growing up…"_

 _My family...my family...my…family..._ The words echoed in PJ's head as he recalls each thing Leo was known for and matching it to one of his friends.

"You're not joking are you...but what the hell is with you?! Why are you just swapping species?!"

"Blame my dad."

"Blame Parappa?! For what? What does he hold responsible for you looking like each of the girls I know so faaaaaaaaaaack...I just caught on…"

"Mhm."

"...why...ugh...ok so why are you here to begin with?"

"Can't tell you, rules from time travelling."

"Says who?!"

"This book that Grandpa gave me for my sixth birthday, the pic you're looking at, this one right here." He pulls a book from a drawer nearby and hands it to him.

"Time paradoxes and you-" he tosses the book "Ok I am not finding this funny…who's your real, cemented mother?"

"Can't tell you."

"What CAN you tell me?"

"Nothing really...kinda...really limited...unless again...you don't tell anyone this and not attempt to get in the way…"

"You mean like what you're doing?..."

"Just promise…"

"Fine…"

"I...came here...on accident...kind of…" He sighs as he sits on a nearby chair "During my eighth birthday...My dad...just...entered a deep depression...over remembering something he couldn't stop...he thought he had gotten over it...but it just resurfaced...and it...affected the whole family...so...I ran from home...to try and fix it…"

"That explains nothing on how you got here."

"I"m getting to that...see before that, grandpa and dad were trying to invent a car that can traverse the galaxies...but...they failed...slightly...they instead made a car that can travel through time by accident!...that's...where I come in…I kinda...borrowed it...and took off...however being literally a small eight year old with no proper understanding of machinery, time travel or cars...I...missed my mark on the appropriate year...it's been twelve years now…I took the only car...and they founded time travel by ACCIDENT...so...there was no way for them to follow me..."

"So you being a child who thought they could fix everything...ended up stranding himself in the past…"

"Sheesh...I was eight...cut me some slack…"

"Whatever...from your explanation...you landed back when Parappa himself was eight."

"Correct. It was a long...painful...lonely...empty...twelve years...heh...you learn to keep a fake smile on twenty-four seven that way I'll tell you what...heh...but yeah...I waited...I waited so long that I forgot what It was that he failed to do…to try and prevent or fix it...and I broke the car I took so I couldn't just drive back..."

"It's a miracle you even LIVED this long...how the hell did you manage?..."

"I found help...some other people had my back growing up...helping me get off my feet...had to start up a music career with the skills you guys taught me...but that's not the point...what I DO remember is that the accident happened when he was about twenty."

"What?! So something's gonna happen or start happening now?!"

"From what I recall...yeah."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST SHOW UP TO US AND TELL US?"

"A, I forgot what it was. B, oh yeah sure let me just walk up to the Rappa house, knock on the door, look at my father who's currently the same age as me and go " _HI, I'M YOUR SON FROM THE FUTURE! I'M HERE TO TELL YOU THAT YOU'RE GONNA SUFFER SOMETHING AS YOU HIT TWENTY THAT WILL GIVE YOU CLINICAL DEPRESSION THAT WILL HAUNT YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!"_ He then stares at PJ "You see what I mean?"

"A little rude, but yes."

"Look, I came back here to help and help I will!"

"You...don't think it was the relationship thing was it?"

"Oh nonono, mom and aunties handled that with ease. It wasn't the Sunny thing either. They really did help him get over that...actually...I...am now the one that helped him get over it...whoops…"

"Oh boy...speaking about Sunny...does she come back?"

"Nope. I don't have an Auntie Sunny...don't...think i'd want one? Dad...seemed really bummed about the whole break up thing...I actually don't think he got full closure…luckily it seemed she never came back...maybe...that's the reason why he never got over it?...That's still not the reason for his depression and what not. No that was a BIG thing that he said affected everybody..."

"Hm...well...if you can't remember that...at least keep answering me a few other things."

"I'll do my best."

"Who's...Auntie Rammy?"

"Rammy, the uh...i'mma...say...twin as to not be rude to her origins…"

"Why I'm sure she won't mind…"

"She's...Lammy's doppelganger from hell…"

"I take it back, I'm pretty sure she would mind being called that."

"Ugh...but yes...she's just that…"

"So Lammy knows her...but how the heck does everyone else get to know her?"

"Oh! Dad met her at some nerd expo. I...don't really recall the story...from what I get...Rammy was I guess really mean at first, but...I dunno they never really explained the entire thing...just from that day on they became friends!...so much so that Rammy got a bit defensive over him for his well being and vice versa!"

"Well I mean it's nice that we all become friends but...still...that's...rather off putting…"

"Why's that?"

"You don't assume...she's gonna be another gal that'll affect his heart?"

"...oh...oh dear…"

"On that topic can you fully explain the species thing?"

"Ok… the full 'science' behind that is this...Dad's currently...excruciatingly confused...and thus...his heart's fickle...it keeps alternating between who he should give a chance to. And the reason for my constant species swap is that, of course, the girl he has in his hearts main sights will ultimately say yes obviously. Then it leads to love, then love leads to marriage, and then that leads into me within a snuggly baby carriage. And I keep swapping because of it!" As he finishes his sentence, he is now a yellow mouse, his size has diminished abit, but he is still quite tall. The hair on top of his head is black, complimenting the blonde half that makes up the fake dog ears style. His dynamite is orange, matching Parappa's beanie.

"I...gotta believe since I'm clearly seeing the end result…"

("Good! Now will you promise to keep it quiet?")

"Uh…yeah…"

("What?...oh…") He clears his throat "Good!..."

"Good isn't the word I'd use to describe any of this. First off I'm staring at my bud's future kid. Who is currently proving my fears true that Parappa is still quite incompetent when it comes to falling in love again. And second off, said future son informs me that something's gonna happen to my buddy that will negatively affect his life!..."

"That's not my fault! You and your nosiness happened!"

"You were the walking example of do not trust!"

"Sorrrrrryyyyyyyy…Look...Europa Rappa doesn't exist anymore...I'm Leo Steps…" He puts the helmet back on "And that's what I will be until I manage to help my dad. That still extends to you guys. Whether it's avoiding the big problem my dad will fail to stop. Or just other stuff. You guys are famous even when I'm from, but if you wanna get bigger, I can still help with that to. Just...don't be afraid to ask alright? But please don't give away who I am…"

"Ok...I accept your offers still and I promise I won't tell anyone about you...but I still will keep talking about things with you alright? Whenever I feel I want to."

"Sure as long as, again, you don't tell anyone else….mum's the word?"

"Mum's the word." They shake hands before PJ removes his helmet and delivers a punch straight to his face.

"OW...UNCLE PJ WHY...I THOUGHT I WAS YOUR FAVORITE…"

"First off, i'm not YOUR uncle, i'm the uncle of the Europa, the CURRENT Parappa will inevitably have. Second off. How dare you cause future me, Parappa, your mother and everyone else so much grief and heartbreak over what they probably believe is your demise."

"I-I'm sorry…"

"Eh...it's fine for me...but not future me...and third off, favorite? There's more kids?"

"Well yeah there's Uncle Matt's adopted daughter...You and Auntie's Sweety's daughter, Uncle Colonel Noodle's son...my...sisters…" He trails off. "Heh...I...missed the birth of my twin baby sisters...They...don't even know they have a big brother…"

"I am this close to punching you harder now that you told me that. Because that means Parappa and your mom probably suffered THRICE as hard. And considering they both hold special places in my heart...I'm mad. Real mad."

"Y-You wouldn't hurt your nephew over it would you…"

"No...cause he doesn't exist yet. You? You're now a grown adult who should have realized the consequences of his actions." As PJ rears his fist back, Leo simply recoils on the ground "There, that fear in you should be punishment enough."

"I...really hope past me doesn't do anything to upset you...you were always so jolly...and asleep…it's not fun seeing you angry..."

"Glad to see some things don't change with me. Well I'll be taking my leave, I'll be sure to call whenever I wanna chat…" As he walks off, he stops by the entrance. "By the way...think you can teach me how to drive?..."

"Oh um...are you sure?"

"That fancy car that's parked out there has to be yours, so that obviously means you learned how to drive."

"W-Well yeah…"

"Then teach me whenever I ask, I wanna drive without having to rely on him. Can't do that forever."

"O-Ok...see ya…" He puts his helmet back on and returns inside his room.

"The heck took you so long?" Parappa says as he sees PJ walk up and open the door.

"Eh...stuff. Don't worry about it." As he sits down and closes the door he takes a deep breath before speaking up again "You were right dude. Leo was by no means a bad guy...just an awkward...and stupid one."

"What did I miss…"

"Never you mind with that. Come on, we still have time to do stuff before our shift begins."

"Right. Let's go."

* * *

"Another day, another lunch rush."

"Yeah but at least we have Paula helping us now...speaking of which where is she? We open in twenty minutes!"

"Beats me dude."

"I'm here I'm here!"

"Oh finally, you almost had me worri-" Parappa was caught off guard by Paula's 'work uniform'. It was a uniform shirt and skirt that matched the color pallete of the cafe. Which consisted of Pink, Light blue and Dark blue.

"Tada! Whatcha boys think?"

"Wow that looks pretty, but also…"

"Beautiful…" Parappa says in a daze.

"Yeah that." PJ could tell that Leo would be looking like Paula for the remainder of the day.

Paula simply giggles "Thanks! That's what I was aiming for! Glad to see my natural style and charm still got it!"

"Did you make that yourself?"

"Yep! It's why I left early. To get started right away!"

"Wow that's some commitment, wouldn't you agree dude?...dude?"

Parappa stay in place, prompting PJ to slap the back of his head.

"OOF. uh...yeah yeah! I'm glad. I thought you just joined us here for the heck of it. Now I know it was silly of me to worry over such a thing!"

"How rude! You should know if I participate in something! I do it seriously!"

"If it's in the benefit for something you want…" PJ says as he rolls his eyes with a chuckle.

"What was that?"

"G-Guys! Come on now! We're fellow employees now! Let's not try to peeve one another off…"

"Fine...I apologize."

"Thank you." She sticks her tongue out at him before walking up to the counter with Parappa.

"So anything you'd like me to do in particular?"

"Well really you'll be on the front duty with me. PJ and Tamanegi get kitchen duty and behind the counter needs."

"I think I can handle that."

'Good to hear! Alright. Fifteen minutes till opening! Get ready guys!"

"Our stock is good to go."

"Hai! We are prepared in every front."

"Great! Paula you ready?"

"We're about to find out."

"I'm sure you'll do great!"

* * *

"And here's your coffee Miss with your croissant sandwich! Oh...I forgot the other order...my apologies I'll handle your order in a second other Miss!"

"No worries Paula, I have it right here."

"Oh phew...nice save. Thanks Parappa!"

"No problem! Already finished with the orders I had with me."

"All twenty two at once?"

"I hurried to see if you needed any help." The two women who they were attending simply released a " _Awww~"_ in unison.

"It always is sweet when a couple helps one another~"

"W-Wait what do you m-mean c-couple?!"

"I almost didn't believe it when I heard the others talk about it, but now that I see it with my own eyes! It couldn't be anymore sweeter! Sweeter than this cake to! And that's already pretty sweet!"

"W-Wait! Y-You ladies have it all wrong!..." Both Parappa and Paula glow red as they begin trying to clear their names while PJ watches from the counter "Oh boy…"

* * *

"That shift was an utter nightmare...I'm sorry Paula…"

"Nono don't apologize! It's not your fault...just women who don't know when to NOT gossip…"

"And they still won't stop...cuz I still think they don't believe us when we say we're not a couple…"

"I wonder what sparked such out of the blue gossip" PJ says as he walks to them.

"Beats me! It wasn't like this yesterday…"

"...why not…"

"Why not what?..."

"Why not take advantage of it?..."

"W-What?!"

"Well...It clearly brought more people...and more people means more income for the cafe and us!"

"I feel like that's being a tad manipulative…"

"It is and I don't agree with it dude."

"PJ relax! Think of this way! You'd be able to finally afford that DJ mixer you've been eyeing for a long while!" A light glimmer sparkles in the corner of PJ's eyes.

"On second thought, I agree with this fully. And what a lovely couple you two make!"

"Seriously...it was that easy to win you over…" He simply crosses his arms "I really don't like lying to the people...but if it is for the benefit of the cafe...I can play along I guess..."

"Oh relax Parappa! It's not like we're actually dating, it'll be fine!"

"Ok ok! I take your word for it." as he finishes, Paula grabs his arm and nuzzles into him "Thanks hun~"

"Meep!...H-Hey! There's nobody here!..."

"Gotta get a head start!" She playfully winks to him as she keeps at it.

"H-Hey! P-PJ help!..."

"Sorry dude, you're on your own!" As PJ says this, he calls it a day and leaves.

"W-Wait don't go!...H-Help!..."

* * *

"Man...what a day…"

"Hey what's with you? I thought you said you were gonna be at ease with Paula there?"

"I thought I would be! But…"

"B-But what?"

"The customers started gossiping…"

("Oooh do tell!")

"That me and Paula were dating…"

"What?"

"W-What?..."

("Pfft oh is that all?")

"And then by the end of my shift, Paula decided to go along with it to attract more customers…"

"WHAT…"

"W-Wahuh…"

("You should've started with that!...")

"I guess...well anywho now we're a pretend couple all in the name of attracting more customers to the cafe. Lucky me…"

"Geez if only I could've pulled that kinda thing off while I still worked at Dot's Diner years ago."

"Don't be encouraged by her!..."

"Sorry sorry, you're right. Well it is just pretend after all, not like it'll go anywhere. Wait...why didn't PJ help you out?"

"He was won over by the prospects of upgrading his gear."

"Sell Out…"

"My thoughts exactly." Parappa slumps onto the floor prompting Katy to change the subject.

"Hey Parappa you never told me if you thought up anything?"

"Oh. I did. But the thing is what I planned for today was to finish off cleaning the pond...but I'm to exhausted...luckily tomorrow we have a day off. How about you?"

"We're free to! And how about anything else that doesn't require doing manual labor?"

"Hm...I was planning to visit Mushi, but I dunno, dudes been busy for a while. At least I think given how great the guy is!"

"Did you check?"

"Not really…"

"Then how can you be so sure! He's probably been there waiting for you to pop on by! After all you ARE his student!"

"I mean yeah but…"

"Not butt's except ours that have to head on over to Mushi's!" She picks up Parappa off the ground.

"H-Hey! We can't just drop in whenever we feel like it!..."

"Didn't he give you permission to specifically do that?"

"...he still might be busy…"

"You're afraid to visit him."

"Pffft, whaaaaaat."

"T-That's neglected fear a-alright."

("Big time.")

"Oh come on! I'm not scared!...much…"

"What's wrong…"

"I...haven't seen him in over a year thanks to you know what...he might be upset with me now over it…"

"Oh he won't! This is MC King Kong Mushi we're talking about! Ever since he upgraded out of Club Fun...which is probably the reason why it shut down now that I think about it...he's been doing loads of stuff with the masses, no person is to much of a hassle to spend time with! Guy's to jolly to be upset at anything!"

"Okok I get it! Fine we'll see him to see who's right."

"Great! You girls wanna join in?"

"I guess I w-will if it's not t-to much a hassle…"

("I'll pass, i'm to busy watching T.V.") A Joe Chin commercial then pops up prompting her to shut it off ("You know what T.V.'s lame, I don't know what got over me, let's go!") Causing the three to roll their eyes as she bolts out the door.

* * *

"You'd think a musician as famous as him would've decided to upgrade out of our quaint lil town but no. He's sticking to this town like a siamese twin!"

"Mushi wasn't really up for all that hussle and bussle of the bigger places...ironic considering his style would tell you otherwise...my mentor's weird...but that's what makes him so great and unique!"

"H-He is a rather fun chill guy."

("I severely find it hard to believe that a guy like that can be so jolly so often.")

"Mushi is the embodiment of jolly!"

"And we're nearing his studio- Wait...is that Leo?...The heck's he doing here?"

Leo was seen from the distance outside Mushi's new studio talking with the man himself, both seemed to be rather panicky from what they could tell.

"What's going on?"

"Hold on, I'm gonna park the van farther away so they don't see us."

"I-Isn't that a little ominous?"

"Well I wanna know what they're talking about!"

"Why?"

"Mushi's not jolly! Whatever Leo brought up, it got to Mushi's good mood! And that's clearly a big deal!"

The quartet exit the van and begin slowly walking towards the duo, with guilt immediately striking Parappa.

"I don't feel right eavesdropping on my mentor…"

"It's only bad if we get caught!"

"That...does not reassure me in the slightest…"

As they near Mushi and Leo, they can barely hear what they're conversing about.

"So what're you gonna do now that PJ knows?"

"Not much...he promised to not speak about it at the very least...And if I can recall what I know about him, he's not a liar…"

"This is all really giving me a headache…twelve years keeping you secretive so you could pop in when actually needed...only for that to go wrong in a matter of a few days…"

"I'm sorry...I got careless…"

"Naw it's good man! Maybe this might be a benefit!"

"I've already messed up enough as is! I already caused Tycoon SP to start moving earlier than he should've…now there's this...I fail to see how this will be a benefit.

"It's all gonna be alright man. We'll cross that hurdle when we get to it! For now how bout you come inside and relax man. You look like you're about to burst through your helmet."

The quartet can't make out what they're properly saying.

"They said something about being careless...and benefits...and Tycoon SP? The heck?...ugh...we need to get closer!"

"K-Katy wait!" Katy pushes forward causing the four of them to fall out into the open.

"W-Who's there!" Leo's helmet emits a security siren as it flashes red and white causing the four to be put under a spotlight.

"Oh! Cool your helmet man it's just Parappa!"

"O-Oh…" The siren cuts off.

"Hey Parappa! I haven't seen you in a year! A very long one at that! What happened man?..."

"Ah...some...things got me under the weather is all…"

"Was it your girl leaving you."

"...yeah…"

"Oof...yeah Leo here told me about it. But you should've still visited! I could've tried to have been of some help! You leaving me outta the loop makes me feel like I was of no help whatsoever."

"I-I didn't mean to come off as that way!"

"Yeah! Parappa just...locked himself away from everybody!" Katy said trying to help him explain.

"Re-lax! I know that now! Besides everyone needs their space when it comes to matters like this!"

"Thanks Mushi...by the way...why's Leo here?"

"I was um...teaching...PJ...how to drive...i'm thankful he's a fast learner…once we called it a day, I didn't go back immediately and decided to pay a visit to an old friend."

"And here we are! I was just inviting Leo inside so he can destress. But since you four are here, wanna join?"

"S-Sure!"

"O-Ok!"

"Fine by me!"

("Eh, why not.")

The six of them head inside Mushi's studio, as Leo is immediately asked.

"You were teaching PJ how to drive?..."

"Yeah...he...asked me to…"

"Why?"

"He wanted to learn…"

"Huh...He could've asked me...or at the very least contacted Mooselini…"

"I dunno, I felt obligated to after a little...chat we had…"

"Well at least you were there for him! Thanks Leo!"

"Yeahaha...no problem…"

"And here we are! My little private hideaway within my new studio, a little home away from home! Or it would be if my home wasn't so close to here to ruin the point of a home away from home." The place was a big, shiny and as luxurious as you expect. It was also littered with posters hung everywhere.

"Wow...look at this place…"

"C-Certainly has it's flare…"

("The acoustics here must be killer…")

"Wow Mushi, you certainly got it good here."

"I guess I do little man, but I can't help but miss Club Fun, of course I can't exactly go back seeing as the place has since closed down." he stays silent, causing Katy to pick up.

"By the way Mushi, what were you and Leo talking about? You two seemed real buggy back there!" Katy's question causes Leo's helmet screen to crack.

"Oh that! Well about that! Leo here is actually!..." Mushi takes a quick glance at Leo and sees that he rather not have them know "...He's actually...an old friend who helped me out of a bind...and we were reminiscing...nothing more. The memories got us both flustered." Leo heaved a sigh of relief.

"Oh so that's what happened...anywho wow Leo you really do know everything about the music industry…"

"Mama didn't raise no liar." He puts his arms at his hips as he scoffs, causing the five of them to roll their eyes and laugh at him. Mushi more so due to understanding the context more than the four of them.

Eventually Ma-san speaks up.

("Hey King Kong, what's with these old posters you have hanging around?")

"Oh those! Those are actually…" He trails off as he starts getting upset at remembering. "Those are just memories of times that used to be simple, but then bigger things get in the way…"

The five of them simply reply with a group "Huh?"

"You guys have time for a story? It's a bit long."

"Ooooh this oughta be fun to hear!"

"S-Sure!"

"Of course teach!"

"I might as well since I'm here."

("Well guess I don't have an option now.")

"Heh...well. First, what's music to all of you?" he crosses his arms as if expecting a correct answer.

("Music is the fire that burns within that you gotta let out to captivate the audience in a glorious blaze of rhythm as you vent out your own negativity and replace it with positivity that spreads to the crowd and makes them positive to!") Ma-san says as she twirls her drum sticks.

"Music is the guide to t-things you never thought c-capable or ever in r-reach." Lammy says as she clutches her guitar.

"Music is the flow that helps people get happy and enjoy themselves!" Katy says as she bounces in place.

"Music is the way of life that gets everyone to get along with one another hand in hand." Both Parappa and Leo state at the same time.

"All of those are the correct answer, music is all that shows who someone really is compared to someone else. One's individuality and yet at the same time their common ground! It's the emotions we feel, the driving force, the conclusion. The events after. Music itself is the essence of everyone's way of life!...So...what do you think happens when some people don't appreciate that and try to go out of their way to impede another's music. Whether it's by their own choice or prompted by another?"

"I know I wouldn't want anyone snuffing out my rhythm...I'd be sad…

("i'd get angry…")

"S-Scared…that's what i'd be..."

"I'd be disappointed in myself for letting it happen…"

"I'd be upset...super upset...I'd wanna…"

"Fight back?" Mushi says scratching his head.

"Yeah…" Is all the five say in unison.

"That's exactly what happened back then, back when you lot weren't even born yet! Originally there were four main groups of musical genius…'The Cruisin' Blues', 'Chivalry', 'Skyhigh' and 'Flambe'. That was their names they held with pride...now none of these guys really liked one another at first, but they all could respect one thing, the music they loved. However, one little thing goes wrong and then that mutual link becomes the driving force to better one another. Of course music wasn't meant for this kind of use. So none of them ever succeed, and that made them angry. What made them even angrier was the fact that their fights generated such great music, telling them that working together would beget better results, but they hated the thought."

"That's being petty, selfish and stubborn…"

"Right you are lil dude! Then one day another group appeared called 'Royal Rock' They managed to calm them down from fighting one another. But one man ruined it, just like how he got the four groups to fight in the first place. He made the four groups think Royal Rock were a threat to them, while making Royal believe that they were better than the rest and should be the ones to impede them…the fight began anew as they turned their instruments made for spreading joy into weapons meant on ending it."

"T-That's terrible…" Lammy simply shudders in fear.

("I thought I had a bad temper…") Ma-san shakes her head in disbelief.

"The four original groups united to take em down, but the Royal's were more composed and adept, they were newer compared to the four classics. The rampage of the Royal's had influenced more groups to have at them. Sub members of the four groups united to form 'Allies of the Funk'! These guys who were in charge of the machinery that helped musicians or made their instruments were now making the next stars and challengers to Royal Rock. This inspired an already existing group of the same type of engineers of music called the 'Groove Machine' Both these assisted in the warring."

"Wait wait...isn't it unfair for machines to join in?"

"Not exactly little dude, think of a DJ, or a guitarist that plays an electric keytar or just instruments in general, or even a synth machine. All their own actual source. And hey, you should be rooting for Groove Machine a bit since your dad, as a kid, was apart of the Groove Machine faction! While your Mom was part of Allies of the Funk! It was meant to be from what I see."

"R-Really?...Why'd they never tell me about it…"

"War of any kind is never a thing one wants to talk about little dude."

"Why even have a war over this kind of thing?"

"Again, sometimes some feel they're better than all the rest. And it costs people. In one retrospect, it got your parents to meet didn't it?"

"I guess…" He looks at a Poster of Groove Machine and Allies of the Funk! And like Mushi said, a really young version of his mother and father were in each of them!

The Royal's were adapting their music from each battle, to take advantage and strike them down. The influence of the Royals alerted a new group 'Garden Love'. In which your ex's dad was a part of! These guys HATED fighting of any kind and disliked how the music was being abused. They only took arms because they felt they needed to defend their way of life...and for some, it hardened them. They were close with the peace loving Groove Machines, who were on the same boat, so they weren't without allies. In fact, keeping their safety caused the Groove Machines to adapt into Soul Machine in order to protect them better!."

"That explains why Potter Funny ended up a war general...and how he was best friends with Mr. Rappa."

"Yep! Now they all started advancing and adapting as the Royal's did. Chivalry became 'Chivalry Down' after integrating the Royal's own style into theirs, while the other simply adapted in their own ways. The Skyhigh's couldn't handle working with people they didn't like, so they split. A heavy mistake that would've snuffed them out were it not for backup. A like minded group called 'Dragonhaven' and stuck with them. The Flambe's ended up stumbling upon the funkiest of groups 'Dino-Might' and managed to get their assistance! And Ma-san, this might be obvious, but…"

("With a name like that, I think I understand. Papa-ma was apart of it…")

"Yep. Anywho, Cruisin' Blues got help from one of their four founders. An icy witch siren, one of three, simply known as Babylon. The emotion in the blue's she could sing. The way she play that saxophone...it was not meant to be used as a weapon...But boy did it help."

"That's good right?..."

"Well no...as the Royal's grew in influence...they reached one of the founding father groups of music. 'The Ravens', a group of heavy metal heads. Now at first they did nothing. Rather, they wanted to watch...but eventually they started blindsiding the original four groups, and the other help groups, specifically Dino-Might. Eventually King Rock and Queen Roll of the Royal's started coming out to show they meant business...while Cruisin' Blue released the Second icy sistah...Gale. Her Blues could chill the very soul of any person who heard and her drums did a pretty good in increasing that mojo."

"E-Everyone was doing everything they could to outdo t-the others and take them down...but it just c-caused more pain and loss…"

("People can be incredibly stupid…")

"Then something happened, the Royals were betrayed by one of their own...and then...the massacre happened...but the Royals...they didn't go down like that...their anger didn't let them pass...And when a spirit should refuse to go to heaven or hell they just stay on land and wander...their souls merged with one another to become one massive entity of corrupted music...and were it not for your dad's idea to build a secret weapon...surely nobody would've lived to see the next day...The souls were ascended by force as now, and for a split second...you could almost believe the Royal's were happy...cuz they were finally free…"

"Some freedom…" Leo's helmet loads the phrase '100 % Sad' onto the screen.

"What was the weapon?..." Parappa asked, confused.

"Something he called the Magna Groove Cannon. The rhythm of everyone charged it up, and in one fell blast, the beast was blown away, as if it never existed. Dispersing the spirits and putting them to rest."

"Wow…" Parappa stays silent, unaware his father could've even made such a thing.

"The shock of seeing what misuse of music and fellowship could lead to made the rest unite for real as they wanted to stop the war then and there to avoid ruining what little they had left to love, but they still had an obstacle...The Ravens were the main enemy now and they were going at Dino-Might none stop. This prompted the groups, Soul Machine and Allies of Funk to merge and become Soul of the Funk to try and help Dino. Until Dino themselves did they unthinkable, they led the Ravens into a trap...and they did something that truly made the earn the name Dino-Might...they took down most of the Ravens at the cost of bringing themselves all down. A selfless sacrifice to stop a greater misuse of music."

("That's...what happened to Papa's family…") She looks at the poster involving the entire group of Dino-Might, and sees a younger Papa-Ma in the bottom corner. Looking exactly like her, down to the explosive temper in his facial expression. Minus the dress. Albeint, his suit was still red.

"Your dad was the only one who was told a different plan in order to ensure that not ALL of them would go boom. He...didn't enjoy it to say the least...Anyway, this act didn't go unnoticed...it reached the hearts of the Flambe who cried for their burning, explosive and emotional brothers and sisters selfless demise, so much so that they took their emotions that they couldn't release and took it upon themselves to do it in their honor. They became the Flambeyond and with their new head. The so called 'God of Dance', El Dorado."

"W-Wait...t-the golden one?...I-I know that name…"

"Makes sense, he WAS your grandad!"

"W-What!...I d-didn't know grandpa was in that war...mom never really told me anything about him...just that he died way before I was born…" Lammy simply looks at one poster involving a Sheep, cloaked in all black, red and gold flamenco suit and hat. He was also wearing a gold and black medieval opera mask. He was in front of a big group, no doubt Flambeyond. She just stays transfixed as she sighs sadly, wishing she would have met him at least once.

"Unfortunately he did meet with his end, but not here! He used his hard as diamond legs to stamp out any stragglers...very messy... Of course not all of the Ravens were down, and they were stubborn. Even outnumbered, they deployed constant hit and run tactics to peck off the remaining groups, one person at a time...and it worked. This forced Crusin's final act, call the last remaining sistah...Titania...This girl had the most influential voice for the blues...and with her acoustic guitar...man almighty was that just so much power...and to use it as a weapon...cruelty. See the cruisin's were at war with themselves over actually getting her to help! Half of them said it'd backfire, the other half said it'd be for the best."

"Let us guess...it backfired?..." They all say in unison.

"Bingo!" He snaps all four of his hands "Titania, Gale and Babylon all united their mighty siren voices. Being sea witches has it perks when you go power hungry. And they thought that everyone got into fighting from their inability to maintain their emotions, that they couldn't handle the music...and were classified as stepping stones for them...Now the trio were the final hurdle in true peace. So Cruisin' released Lupe, the queen of emotions, otherwise known as your good ol grandma miss no cuttin corners!"

"W-Wow...actually...Yeah...I recall my dad not being very found of his mom...now I see why..." She stares at the poster with Cruisin' Blues with a much much younger version of her father standing next to his mother, with great disdain on his face, while a way younger version of her mother stands not that far off. "Seems like he was part of the group that didn't want them to be called upon…?"

"Nope, your dad was the first to bring up the idea of them, he disliked the fact that they had to snuff that idea out. Same deal with your mom. He hated his mother for trying to stop the sistah's"

"O-Oh...I knew there was a reason why I could never connect with my mom OR dad well…"

"Carrying on, Lupe was meant to keep the trio in line. But they were ready and performed the cheapest tricks imaginable to take her down...just like that...but she did manage to inform the others to run. El Dorado, bought the groups that time to run, run far away to avoid the icy demise, but he knew he couldn't take the three on, and he went down like a trooper. And like that, the trio were free to put the world on ice...or they would be if it weren't for cruisin's last resort. An old man. The guy was the fourth of the founders and the oldest original one. He was fast for an old coot, and one more very important thing, he was also a surgeon with heavy knowledge on the body...with one attempt that cost the poor old guy his life...he took away the trio's vocal chords, never to sing again. Thus their icy emotional rampage...was finally put to rest. A siren without her voice is like a remote controlled toy robot without batteries...dead and motionless. And with that...the war was over...the remaining people were scared...what they loved so much had been used to cause all this pain...destruction...unhappiness...they were survivors with one thing in mind...run away from this, bury it in the past. Start a new life and avoid ever having this happening again."

"All of our families huh?..." Parappa says as he just glances at all the people who didn't end up as lucky "Were you apart of that Mushi?"

"Yes and no. I was apart of a different group that wasn't so keen on making their name known, they didn't wanna get dragged into that mess. I wanted to help them all, but I was to young at the time to help at all. What could one lone guy do to stop it?"

"But all this thanks to one guy…putting selfish ideas in all their heads..."

"Yeah...but he's not important now. He's pretty much faded into obscurity!" _Until recently...but hopefully nothing will come from that…_ "Point is this."

"Huh?" The group say in unison as Mushi changes tones.

"Will you lot commit the same errors they did?"

"N-No!"

"Of course not!"

("We're not as dumb as they were!")

"It still makes no sense why people would fight over music like that…"

"Agreed…" Leo looks at the downtrodden Parappa "My...father had this one dream. To use the gift of music for the benefit and betterment of everyone!" They all look at Leo "He wanted to use everyone's love and companionship as a means to help improve daily life. People would be able to drive cars without the need of fuel. Have electricity, water, and other stuff in their households without much effort or worry about taxes! All that stuff! And all you had to do was just...love music and play as usual! But of course, it's a tall order. He and granddad worked when they could to see their progress grow bit by bit."

"And? How's it going!..." they shout nearly toppling the helmeted guy over.

"I...don't know...I ran away from home at a young age...it's been years now...heh...I think...that might've stunted the progress a little…"

("Why the heck would you run from home? And stay gone for so long?")

"Personal things...it's...very convoluted...best kept to myself." Ma-san shrugs in annoyance "But, I've been doing my part as well. I try to use music to power stuff...to...marginal success! Club Rainbow is living proof of that!" The other four simply stare at him wide-eyed.

"That TITAN sized thing is powered simply by music?!" Katy says as her tail wildly swipes to and fro.

"Yes! It's...a pain to manage...constant check ups and what not...but it works! What better way to generate enjoyment and music! None other than a club! Saves me from requiring to pay for the thing. Now I just need to pay for catering. Music can't fill a hungry stomach!...yet...still finding out ways to get that to work..."

"T-Think of the things you c-could do if you h-hit a proper breakthrough!"

"Unfortunately i'm not really...as tech savvy as dad or grandpa...they were gonna teach me...but again...kinda ran before they could…"

"Aw man...but hey! I myself am trying to be tech savvy like my dad! I may not look like the type, but I wanna be an inventor like him! And...funnily enough...your dad's dream sounds like something I had in my heart since I was a little pup!"

"A-Ahahaha...you don't say...what are the odds...h-heh…"

"So I wanna try as well! I'm going to an expo with him soon!...ish...I'm try to spark that fire in me to help get me building! And then I wanna try helping you out with your idea!"

"U-Uh...I'd suggest working on your own with that!...Truth be told with the club...I kinda...borrowed my dad's...knowledge...to get that up and running...so i'd be a liability in your future research!..."

"It'd be fine! Any help is good help!" His tail wags.

"H-Heh...yeah...that is true...I'll think about it!...first things first you get that spark in ya burnin'!"

"Right! But, first!...hey Mushi...if it's not to big a hassle...think...I could have these posters?..."

"Oh? Why's that little dude."

"I wanna look up stuff that these guys used to do. I wanna see what the music of before was! I...wanna imagine what it would've been like had these guys lived on to this day…"

"Haha, that's just like you man. Parappa you're free to take em. Truth be told I think it's for the better, I don't really want em cuz they just remind me of bad times, but you clearly see something better! You would honor these people and give them the one thing they so very crave now in the afterlife."

"What's that?"

"Being remembered." Mushi simply gives a sad laugh as he plucks down the posters and hands them to Parappa.

"M-Mind if I have the Flambeyond o-ones?"

"And Cruisin' for me!..."

("I'd...kinda like the Dino-Might one")

"Hahah! Ladies that's perfectly fine! Nothing wrong in wanting to see your family's roots! Just ask! The more people to honor those misled the better!" He hands over what they ask for as well as other ones involving them.

"Thanks for this Mushi!"

"Yeah! It's nice to look back at the artists of yesteryear and see where one can carry on or improve."

("Not how i'd put it, but yeah pretty much that.")

"T-Thanks Mr. King Kong Mushi!.."

"No problem Parappa! And to you three as well!" As the neatly hold onto the posters, Parappa notices an odd one still hung up.

"Hey...what's that one over there with the weird symbols?"

"Oh this? These are their group band symbols! See this big sword one was Chivalry. This snowflake over water was Cruisin' Blues! The tree is obviously Garden Love's-"

"Why do they look incomplete?"

"Oh! Well many reasons for that, the long winded philosophical one summarized is this, remember that everyone has their own individuality as well as unity with one another! The more straightforward answer is they adapted remember? Look closely at Soul Machine and Allies of the Funk symbols!"

"T-Those look like they could fit t-together."

"Right you are little lamb! Look here!" He points to a new symbol, having the previous two united together "Get it now?" They all reply with a nod "Good! Here, you can have this to lil man!"

"Thanks!...hm...Mushi you gave me a great idea!"

"Wazzat?"

"I've been thinking of what symbol to knit into my new beanie...and now I have it!"

"Which one would that be? Soul Machine? Allies of the Funk?"

"All of them!" Parappa's answer just gets Mushi to burst out into heavy jolly laughter.

"Man you are the SWEETEST guy alive!"

"Hehe...I just wanna keep these guys spirits alive somehow! As we carry them into a better future! One with no fighting!"

"I think they'd like that."

"Well we better be off!" Katy say once she notices the time.

"Oh! Ok then, later Mushi!"

"Later guys, and Parappa! Don't leave me hanging next time alright my man? Can't really be my student if you don't even check in on me!"

"E-Eep...sorry…"

"Don't worry! Just keep comin back!"

"Roger!"

As the four leave the room, Leo stays behind, prompting Mushi to talk to him "Well looks like he's still got the idea in his heart, and you were worried he'd not do it!"

"I'm just afraid of what I accidentally ended up changing…"

"Understandable, but man you worry to much! Whatever that little guy will go through, this time I'm sure he can handle it. And even if he can't, he has loads of people who'll help him through it. Even his own son went back in time to help him! That shows he'll be fine. Have more faith in your own, soon to be father."

"You're right…Mr. Mushi...do you regret helping me all those years ago?"

"Eh...at first I was skeptical, but then you proved me wrong! Just like Parappa himself did. And i'm glad. Helps me rest easy know that we currently have a go getter in Parappa, and will have one again in you in the future! And hey, I'm sure your dad's dream will be realized! It's a noble dream, but it will have to go hand in hand with regular stuff. Can't just selfishly rely on music alone! Lest we have a repeat of the first ever Music war."

"I'm not the one you should mention that to."

"I ain't telling him, that's on you. You are his son."

"Blegh...you got me…but not right now, right now he needs to get into the mojo."

"And he will! Dude never stops believing, it leads to some marvelous things...and I just know Bohemian S-P will take advantage of that…You say Tycoon was around your clubs area?"

"From what the officers told me…"

"Gah...just thinking about him makes me wanna punch his face in...because I know...I just know he wants to mess shit up again...just like with their lives…"

"And my soon to be family will pull through and kick his butt! Avoiding another war!"

"Yeah, but like you said, he started moving earlier than he did in your time…"

"I know I know...look I'll keep his eyes off of Parappa and the others for as long as I can alright?"

"Just...don't get yourself caught in the process…"

"I won't! I'm his son remember? If you can count on him to get by. Then you should know, I'll be able to so as well." he walks towards the exit "See ya Mr. Mushi, just alert me if you need to talk about other stuff."

"Can and will do. Just take care of yourself." as Leo leaves, Mushi simply rubs under his hat as he begins talking to himself "This is starting to really get under my skin...It's not like I don't believe he can do it…" He looks at a framed photo of Parappa and everyone else at Noodle's concert stadium five years ago "It's just...I don't want him to be the one to handle it…"

* * *

"Well...that was certainly quite the visit…" Parappa says as Katy drives them home.

"Yeah...I...did not expect to learn about my mom and dad...specifically how terrible they were and why I'm glad I moved out when I did…"

"I think now I u-understand my family's d-disdain over me trying to d-distance myself with music…they're worried I m-might end up like g-grandpa..."

("I need to slap my dad up the head for not telling me this stuff! Papa-ma was suffering for years and couldn't even bother letting his own daughter help him out!") Ma-san was absolutely livid, her fuse lit up like a firework, and what Parappa said right after didn't help.

"Ma-san, cut your dad some slack, he was basically lied to in order to run away rather than go BOOM like the rest of them...if anything you should be thanking the late members of Dino-Might!"

("WHY THE HELL SHOULD I MUTT?")

"...because without your dad...you wouldn't have existed…and I think he knew that to. I for one know that life wouldn't be the same without Ma-san in it." This not only caused her fuse to fizzle out, but for her to become flat out speechless.

("...") her only reply is chucking a drumstick at his head.

"Ow!..."

"That's her way of saying she's sorry. You kinda made her to embarrassed from your sweetness to speak up." Ma-san then chucks her other drumstick at Katy's head "OW- HEY!..." A red Ma-san simply looks out the side window and huffs in embarrassment.

"H-Hey Parappa, what will you do with the knowledge you l-learned?"

"Nothing much, my dad is still the same guy to me. Goofy, peaceful and a hectic inventor. And my mom is still the same to me to! Brave, protective and would only go down once she knew that everyone will be ok."

"Qualities that all got passed down to you! You're goofy yet brave."

"P-Peaceful and very p-protective!"

("And you certainly are hectic...and stubborn! You certainly won't quit till you get the job done! That's admirable at the very least.")

"Haha, thanks guys...hey. We may both be different musical icons...With me being a Rapper and you guys with MilkCan...but wanna be in our own Musical group? We ask PJ and that's all three of Parappa town's pride and joy right there in a group that loves music!"

"I'd love it that's for sure, but what would our name be?" Katy's reply forces the four of them stay stuck in deep thought.

"How about!...no that's dumb…"

("We could try...no that's to much…")

"Oh oh!...nah…"

"Hm...L-Leavin to believin..." Lammy says to herself, only to soon realize she said it out loud.

"That's a PERFECT name! Great thinking Lammy!"

"O-Oh! I-It was an accident! I-I was brainstorming and it kinda...s-slipped out of my mouth…"

"Well like Parappa said, it was a great thought! Accident or not."

"W-We don't have to pick it t-though…"

("You kidding? We'd be dumb not to pick it! It's that good!")

"E-Eep...o-ok…" Despite her embarrassment, she smiles, happy that her random choice did get picked.

"From now on, we're Leavin' to Believin'! Aside from our own things of course! We're still MilkCan and Parappa's still his own Rapper. I like it!" She smiles at the thought before realizing they arrived "Well we're back, Parappa your turn to help Lammy cook for our dinner tonight."

"Sure thing! I'll be following your lead Lammy."

"Uh...I don't think-.." Lammy stops herself and quickly takes a deep breath "Alrighty, follow my steps and we'll both be done in no time while also making a tasty meal in the process."

"Great! Let's go!" Parappa runs into the apartment before them.

"Lammy i'm impressed, you caught yourself from your stutter fest and managed to talk to him so calml- and she fainted…"

("Pffft, well at least it was something! Come on let's get her in and wake her up, she can't shirk off her turn that easily!")

* * *

"You were right Lammy! It was simple, quick and delicious!"

"Y-Yeah!..." _thank god...I was a severe mess that I forgot a few steps...at least he caught on and helped me fix them..._ "With a g-great helper like you of course it'd be simple!..."

"Nawww, the teacher here was the real deal here!"

"A-Aw thank you! I-I uh...need to g-go splash my f-face with w-water!...I-I'll be right b-back!..."

As Parappa sees her run off, he takes off his hat "Well, I better get to sewing these symbols onto my hat! Probably gonna take all night, but I know it'll be worth it! Luckily I don't have work tomorrow…"

"Call us if you need help."

("Call me when you're sewing Dino's symbol, gotta make sure you get it right or I'll thwack ya with my drumsticks some more!") Parappa's reply is a heavy gulp.

"I'll m-make sure I'll get it exact…" Parappa books it into his room before opening his door "Uh...Katy...you wouldn't happen to have a sewing machine or thread and needle I could borrow?...eheh…"

Katy giggles at his overeagerness "Why did you think of sewing something, if you don't even have ANYTHING to sew with! You're lucky I do have a sewing machine!"

* * *

"Ok! Let's start with Chivalry's symbol...a sword...shouldn't be to hard…" As Parappa sews the symbol on, the room begins to rumble a bit "Man...this machine has some power if it's causing me to wobble...now let's see..the hilt looks like that...the blade has...sparkles? Huh...fancy…." The rumbling increases as the room window opens, with a heavy breeze blowing in "The heck? A storm happening today?! But it was nothing but clear skies!...whatever...I'll close the window in a bit...now there's indents on the side...the jewel on the handle has a little X on it...or is it a plus? Both?..." As Parappa finishes sewing the Symbol the wind knocks him onto the ground "OOF…ok...I probably should have closed the windo-" Upon looking up, he sees a tall wildebeest in glimmering white armor, having a sword in his hands, upon closer inspection, the sword was actually a microphone stand, turned into a sword. Parappa's next course of action was a simple one.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Parappa shuffles to the corner of his room screaming, once he gained a distance, he noticed that said wildebeest, was in fact a ghost.

"PARAPPA ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" The MilkCan trio burst in to see Parappa huddling with fear in the corner, were he simply points towards the ghost as it holds the sword as if it were prepared to strike. The sight causes Lammy to faint on the spot with Ma-san aggressively trying to take on the ghost, only to be stopped by Katy, who yanks the two of them back into the corner where Parappa was currently in.

"W-Who are you!..."

The ghost ignores Katy and simply looks at the beanie before speaking up "Is this yours?"

"N-No that's mine!...W-What of it?..."

"Did you add my old groups insignia on it?..."

"Y-Yeah...I'm s-sorry was I not supp-"

"Thank you…"

"C-Come again…" The trio look at the ghost who is now kneeling, or at least, attempting to as his legs are nonexistent in his ghostly form. He then looks up as if he were a knight in the old days bowing and watching to see if he had the right to get back up.

"Thank you for keeping our legacy alive..."

"W-What…"

 _Everyday, I swear I go more and more insane._


	9. Remember me, Love me, Forget me

"So...you're NOT trying to kill us?"

"Heavens no...there was already enough bloodshed...I just want to thank you for...still treating us as if we still mattered...even after all we did…"

"Well...from what I found out...someone made you think that you were better...it's not entirely your fault…"

"But we still listened...had we not...things may have been majorly different...for that...I thank you...no...for that. WE thank you." the remainder of Chivalry appear in the room, all different wild animals, adorned in knight armor. Their instrumental tools all turned into swords "Could you please do us the honor of finishing our symbol...so we can carry on?"

"Of course!..." Parappa hops on over to the sewing machine with Katy and Ma-san behind, Katy taking a mini detour in laying Lammy onto the bed so she wouldn't be resting on the ground "Mind telling me your name?"

"I am Gallant...a name which I do not deserve…not after the things we've done..." They all look to the ground upset with their poor decisions.

"Alrighty...wait...what did he mean by...OH right! You guys became Chivalry Down! That means...the main symbol...had two more swords crossing with the original one." Parappa begins adding the two other swords, finishing off their symbol, as he does that the spirits being altering in appearance. They looked battered and beaten...and especially broken. Once Parappa finished, a light began enveloping them as they now were wearing more different armor while also sporting a more mechanical appearance. And now wielding two makeshift swords instead of one.

"Ha...I had nearly forgotten what we went through and how we adapted...I feel silly and disgusted with myself...dear children of better times...I hope you four can forgive us selfish brutes for doing what we did…"

The trio simply nod as the spirits all divebomb into Parappa's hat.

"W-Well...i'm glad they found their peace at least!...I'm gonna be meeting all of them aren't I…"

"I-If that's the case...mind...sewing in Cruisin' Blues next?...I...wanna see grandma…" Katy shuffles around nervously as she blurts this out.

"S-Sure!...Alright...they're a snowflake over an ocean wave...a little complex but still easy…" Parappa begins making the symbol with Katy's guidance.

"Nono the wave has indents here and here…"

"Oh you're right my bad...what about the snowflake? Any extra indents I missed?"

"No...just the points have indents and you already got those."

"Good...then with this...that should...do it!" The trio wait, but nothing happens.

("Guess it was a one time thing!")

"Oh...aw well...it was worth a sh-" Suddenly there's a loud banging at the door to the room.

"W-Who is that…"

"I d-dunno…"

("Open it ya sissies!...")

Parappa slowly walks to the door, as he's about to open it, the door opens itself. Revealing a lady in fur clothing. She was a wild cat, she was so furry you could mistake her for a wolf! Which probably explains why she was called Lupe. However like Gallant, she was also a ghost.

"Alright, who started remembering me?"

"W-We did M-Mrs. Lupe!..." Parappa says as he bows in front of her.

"Lift your head up. Come on...I'm not angry. Just...caught off guard. Nobody ever gave a damn about us after how everything went down…so to just feel...important and wanted after all this time was alarming…" She sighs "Hm...I smell something...smells familiar..hey. You there. You wouldn't have to be related to Robert Kat now would you?" she points to Katy.

"H-He's my dad…"

"You poor poor child, your upbringing must have been awful…"

"My...parents...were...yeah they were rather...bad…"

"Sweetie, it's alright to call them worthless sacks of sh-"

"T-They're still my mom and dad!...I-I rather not...yet…"

"Hah...you are definitely not like them. I'm glad. My son was both an idiot and a traitor. As was his equally idiotic girlfriend, who apparently ended up his wife. Both were real rough around the edges, rather spiteful towards everything! Makes me spiteful just thinking about him. But I'm dead so what does it matter to me."

"Y-Yeah...that...rubbed off on me when I was growing up...but...it's thanks to him that I didn't end up that way…"

"Ah, you here helped made sure my idiot of a son didn't taint my granddaughter? I must thank you. Or at least I could if I was alive."

"I-It's no biggie Mrs. Lupe. Katy's just a real close friend of mine! And...I could see how much she was suffering and...I wanted to fix that…"

She simply stares at him before manifesting a wine glass and sipping from it before turning to Katy "He's a keeper, I'd snatch him up before another woman can. Men like that are excruciatingly rare. He'd certainly enhance our bloodline."

"G-Grandmother!..."

"What?"

"I-I wanted to talk to you about specific things!...N-Not my love life!..."

"Oh is that so? What is it?"

"I...wanted to know at first what caused my mother and father to be that way…"

"Nothing caused it sweetie." She sips from the glass again "They just hate people. When you come from a group as cold as us, it's to be expected, but it's still looked down upon."

"O-Oh...so I can't fix it…"

"People like them would rather not be fixed, because they believe nothing's wrong. But know this, don't let them get to you. You aren't them. You will never be them. They can never turn you into them. You are your own new individual now darling. And that's something to idolize. You can't fix em, but your parents could learn alot from you."

"Thank you…" she bows from her grandmother's solemn words.

("I can agree to that! I owe Katy alot myself!") "Such as being able to speak like this!"

"A bloodline member of Dino-Might, WILLINGLY choosing to speak english? Thanks to you? Darling then you are amazing already. A true hard worker. Because getting them to actually attempt it ain't no easy feat."

"Well yeah! Katy's a hard worker! She never cuts corners! Always gives it her all to do what she can no matter what! Always an extroverted joy!"

"Are you sure you don't want to claim hi-"

"M-Moving on. How...did you die?"

"Bah...those three cursed sea bit- witches got the better of me. I guess they knew they couldn't take me in a fair encounter. All you could hear in the place we were at was the sound of my neck snapping."

"Yikes…"

"I told that idiot golden boy to get everyone to leave, but he insisted on staying to help me...the last thing I saw as my head limped onto the ground was him severely angry and charging straight for them. He was a grown man knowing what would happen if he stayed, but no. He wanted to be the gentleman...I felt bad for his daughter, having to deal with a dunce for a father. Always saying ' _Leave it to me!'_ When things got serious. No matter what...it was always...Leave it to me..."

"Golden boy?" Parappa whispers to Ma-san.

("I think she means the golden one, guess he was more talk than walk for a name like that.")

"Oh...well...judging from what she says, he really is Lammy's grandpa."

("No kidding…")

"Hey grandmother...if you were alive today...what would you do now?"

"I'd go to a pond I remember creating. It was a group effort really, but no one relished in it as much as me...of course now it's probably just a tourist trap…"

"I-I know the pond you're talking about! I-It's not a tourist trap! W-Well not anymore...and me and him cleaned it up!...well it got messy again...but w-we're cleaning it up again!..."

"Oh? Is that so? Well thank you, but... who told you about it?"

"M-My mom…"

"Ah...guess she's not AS stupid as my son." she finishes off the wine "Guess you can fix them...well...at the very least your mother."

"R-Really?..."

"I don't honestly know, but it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot in the future."

"M-Miss Lupe…?"

"Yes boy?"

"Why did you have the title 'Queen of Emotions'?"

"Oh that, well the answer should be obvious. You three surely have taken notice of my speaking manner."

"Yeah you're rather...blunt and unemotive grandma…"

"Bingo. I keep my emotions in check, no matter what the situation, I will not express any sort. And to a blue's siren whose whole schtick is to get you wavering from your emotions...I was probably the worst thing in existence to them. Always keeping them in check, and they couldn't do a thing about it. That's why they started calling me that."

"But...isn't it sad being unable to express emotions."

"It is, but...I haven't felt sadness since as long back as I can remember, didn't even show emotion the time I lost my husband...that's where I decided to just shrug off all emotions whatsoever if not even THAT could falter me, I was a lost cause...course that's when goldilocks started trying to be a gentleman...ha...I see what happened now…"

"W-What?"

"Nothing big dear, well I won't say it. Maybe goldy can tell you when you call him over. Hey boy, mind finishing that symbol? I am...truly thankful to have a new era remember us, while trying to overlook our faults...All our faults…" The rest of cruisin' blues appear, however they are split into two groups, unable to look at one another, the group consisted of aquatic theme animals and things as well as anything blue in general. Explaining why Katy was the color that she was "Our stupidity nearly destroyed everything...it was so toxic...even we as a group split up over it...don't end up like us…" Lupe began crying, but her face stayed unemotive.

"We will grandma!..."

"Honey… I don't deserve a sweet title...not after what we did. I am simply...Lupe. Now hurry up-" Rather than call him boy again, she just awaits for him to say his name while also staring at Ma-san waiting for the same answer.

"P-Parappa!..."

"Names Ma-san."

"Yes, Parappa and you as well Ma-san. Please take care of my granddaughter won't you?" They both nod as Parappa heads back to finish the symbol.

"Um...I dunno what the upgraded symbol is…"

"It has the faces of the sea wenches, one at the top, one at the bottom left, and the other with the bottom right. With our founders face in the center."

"You mean the old man who took their vocal chords?"

"He did that? Haaaa...serves them right…but yes, the old man." Parappa returns back and looks for a symbol that matches what she says, when he finds it, he resumes working on the symbol. Causing the group to begin appearing bruised and battered. The trio's additions were not to hard, but reaching the old man's symbol got him needing help from Katy, while she finished up the symbol, they spoke up again.

"Who... was the old guy?"

"The trio's own father."

"W-WHAT?! A-And he WILLINGLY ripped his daughters vocal chords out?!"

"Just because they were his daughters doesn't mean they were excluded from better judgement."

"I mean...I guess you're right grandma...but...still…"

"He did save everyone. At the cost of his life." Katy uneasily finishes the symbol as her grandmother says that, causing said old man to appear.

"Speak of the devil." he does not react. He simply stays at the ground "Well...with that...it's time...we took our leave…" All of cruisin' blues flow into the hat, except for the old man.

"So…."

"..."

"Uh...sir?"

"..."

("Yo say something ya geezer…")

"..." He simply looks up, revealing his face that was hidden between his hat and beard. His face was tear stained so badly, that said stains had become frozen onto his face.

"O-Oh…" is all the trio manage to say as the look down, understanding his emotions.

"Sometimes the right decision...isn't always the best personal decision...never follow in this poor old fools footsteps…"

"Before you leave...what would've been your choice to do?..."

"The same end result...my daughters went to far...and I was the only one to stop them...whether that was fair to me or not...I pray that a choice like that, is never needed again…" with that said he fades into the beanie.

"Well...this is getting more and more sad...Ma-san want me to sew in Dino's symbol next?"

("Nah...i'd...like to hold out for a bit...I wanna see the others first to see what everyone had to put up with.")

"Ok…"

Parappa went with Garden Love next and their insignia was a big tree. As he worked on the symbol, the spirits that visited him were surprising...and disheartening. They were not adults...they were all children. The adults had joined in with Soul Machine to prevent the children from being assaulted, but from The Ravens hit and run tactics...the poor children weren't spared the empathy.

A Little flower girl, who would almost be the spitting image of a younger Sunny Funny were it not for that fact that she was a dandelion, floated towards Parappa and hugged him "Thank you for remembering us…"

"I'm sorry you all had to go through that…" She simply cries while latched onto him. The spectral tears felt cold, but Parappa didn't flinch, or move at all. He didn't even finish the symbol as he waited until she vented out all the sadness, seeing if she was ready to move on. The other children wanted to cry as well, with which Parappa simply nodded. Telling them it was fine to get the burden out. With that they all latched on to him, Katy and Ma-san and began weeping their sorrows away. Once they finished, Parappa simply said this.

"Do you all...want me to finish your symbol?..." They all nod "Ok…"

Before Parappa fully finished, he spoke to the girl once more "What's your name?"

"Poppy Funny..." The name stunned him.

"You...wouldn't happen to have a brother who's name was Potter right?..."

"How did you know?"

"Well...he survived…and you...even ended up getting a niece…" her eyes beam as he say this "He was even best friends with my dad, so it shows that no matter what, he would end up ok...I only wished you guys could've been as well. You guys would've been a great addition to PaRappa Town."

She simply smiles "I'm glad he's ok...he was always reckless...I got scared something bad would happen when he went with all the adults...but now that I see he's ok...all I can really say is thank you…"

Parappa finishes the insignia and looks back at them "We'll keep your legacy alive. No one deserves to be forgotten." They all pile on Parappa, hugging him, before fading into his hat.

Once they leave Parappa simply slams his fist on the wall "Man...I didn't expect THAT many kids to end up being involved with war…"

"And General Potter reckless? Guess the loss of his sis must've hit him hard considering how not reckless he is now…"

("Yeah consider we only lost distant relatives...the adults lost everything!...it's...pretty sad…")

"Well...next group...skyhi-"

"C-Can you do Flambe?..." Lammy says as she gets off of Parappa's bed

"Lammy! You woke up!"

"Y-Yeah...crying kids t-tend to do that…So w-what's with all the ghosts?..."

"They're not here to harm us or anything! Just to thank us for keeping their memories alive." Katy says as she rubs her arm.

"I n-noticed...I'd like to meet my grandfather...i-if that's ok…"

"You got it!...ok...he was part of Flambeyond...that means I have to sew Flambe and Dino-Might first...Ma-san that cool with you?"

("The crying kids were an upset to my stomach, so sure. I rather get some gritty stuff rather than...really upsetting stuff...")

"Alrighty! First Flambe...A simply blaze, ok that'll be easy!" Upon getting down with the first stage of the symbol, Flambe appears, their leader holding an axe, both literally and figuratively.

"WOULD YOU LOOK AT THIS RIGHT HERE GUYS? PEOPLE GIVE A DAMN ABOUT US AGAIN!" The leader was a giant green gorilla with red and white face paint.

" **YEAH!"**

"O-Ow my ears…"

"Oh man they're loud…"

("My kind of people. No wonder Dino-Might were so willing to join with them.")

"M-My Grandpa w-was apart of THIS group?..."

"Grandpa? Did one of us actually manage to leave a legacy?" the group simply shake their heads at their leaders question.

"Boss we're dead, what do you think." the one replying was an armadillo, he sported the same face paint as the gorilla. He appeared to be the second in command.

"I'm sorry! I'm just looking at the positives! I dunno...she looks familiar…" The boss flies forward towards Lammy "Hmmmmmmm…"

"E-Eep…"

He pulls out a black and gold opera mask and holds it over her eyes and smiles "IT'S GOLDY BOY FELLAS!"

"But boss that's a girl."

"IT'S GOLDY GIRL FELLAS!" They simply facepalm.

The one who kept replying to the boss then floats up to Lammy "Our apologies, Magnus here is all brawns and very little smarts...but he can play a killer guitar! One that your grandfather certainly enjoyed. But nothing ever got him to actually fight for it! He was very very passive...how is he now a days?"

"I-I thought you a-all would know...h-he died in the same war…"

"What?! But why didn't he run?..."

"Y-You guys didn't survive to the point when your group became Flambeyond did y-you?..."

"Ah...I see what happened now...He took over for us...and went down like us...I'm sorry dear. He was a good man that didn't deserve that fate." he looks at Parappa "So you actually bothered acknowledging us? I'm sure you know what we did."

"Yeah...but...it's not like...you meant it."

"Well, this is Flambe you're talking to...a group so destructive...we probably did on our own volition. I'm sorry, but we're all brutes as you can clearly tell by Magnus here. So for all we know, our reason was simply because we wanted to."

"T-That's not true…"

"Maybe, maybe not. Fires can be a really petty thing. When has a fire willingly HELPED someone?" he looks at Parappa, the topic clearly making him uncomfortable "It looks like you agree with me! What has fire done to wrong you my boy?"

"It…took my mother away…"

"A-Ah…" The second in command scratches his head "Oh dear…I'm...terribly sorry lad…"

"It's...fine...you didn't know…"

"..." The guy sighs "We're...a self loathing bunch...once the war started...we blamed ourselves for it...we wanted to stop it all…and at the same time end our lives...from all the guilt we had within…" Parappa looks up at him.

"We played like the embodiment of fire when we were alive... I can't undo what flames have done to hurt you, and I can't even apologize for it...all I can do is say, that you are in the right to not care for us...We deserve to be forgotten." Parappa simply shakes his head and finishes the first part of the symbol "Destructive idiots like us don't deserve good people like you caring for us my boy…" They all fade into the hat except him "Thank you…"

"Can you at least tell us your name before you go?..."

"My name is Bunsen...and I apologize for my poor choice of words...as well as anything flames have done to upset any of you…" He fades into the hat once he finishes.

"Didn't expect that to happen...heh…" He shakes his head to try and cheer up "Ok time to add on Dino's stamp…" the trio just watch Parappa, they were unable to speak up, they didn't know what to say "Hey Ma-san, weren't you gonna spectate me?"

("R-Right! You better not have messed up already!")

"Not yet not yet…" The duo begin working instantaneously.

"Ok so the dinos face is inside the fire."

("Don't forget the fuse from it's head! Or the indents that connect from the face of the dino to the flame it's on!")

"Got it! How far does the fuse extend? And oh? Like a puzzle piece?"

("Good, yes and yes.")

"Gotcha!" Upon nearly finishing, Dino-Might arrives.

 _("What do we have here? It appears we're being honored...us kamikaze arsonists? Uh uh baby we don't deserve that nice stuff.")_ the apparent leader of the group, a tall yellow mouse, wearing a red and blue suit while having four sticks of dynamite in his head, states as he gives a sigh. Unlike Ma-san, his eyes weren't beady. And his hair grew around the dynamite sticks into an afro.

("You blew yourselves up in order to stop the Raven's! While that was great, WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!") Ma-san says yelling at the leader.

 _("Hm? You talk like us? Wait sugah you look familiar…")_ he gasps after getting a good look at her _("YOU'RE THE SPITTIN IMAGE OF MARCEL! Oh i'm so glad the guy actually listened to me!")_

("I'M NOT! YOU EVEN UNDERSTAND HOW ALONE MY DAD ENDED UP BEING?! PAPA-MA ALWAYS LOOKS SO DEPRESSED AND NOW I KNOW WHY!") Her fuse ignites like a wildfire, as does the rest of Dino-might before the leader calmed them down.

 _("Listen sweetie, my little brother Marcel was a bit of a dunce. I didn't want him to follow me into war, but he was adamant...and unfortunately...a natural...his tank drums were certainly a destructive force...but I just couldn't watch my baby brother deal with all that! Eventually I knew it was gonna lead to his demise!...then those damn Ravens came…")_

("W-Wait...little brother?")

 _("Yeah sugah, i'm your Uncle! But please let me finish before you ask more questions, I don't want you getting all upset at me for the wrong reason.")_ Ma-san nods hesitantly _("Good...see eventually we knew, we weren't gonna win against the Ravens...so we thought up a trap...now the problem is...we needed all of our group in order for it to work, for it to be believable...if we didn't have everybody, the Ravens would've known it was a trap! But I didn't want my little brother being a part of that...he had potential to have a great life. Not like his stupid older brother. So I told him the wrong plan, that we would be meeting with Flambe. And once he left...well. I'm sure you know the rest.")_

("So...there was no other way…")

 _("We couldn't spare more people or else Raven's would know we were trying to blow them up with us...I wanted my baby brother to be the last one of us keeping it alive...And now I see he did...heh...I'm so happy...and so...sososo sorry…Hate on me all ya want...Uncle Marron deserves it.")_

Ma-san ponders for a moment and sighs before speaking up again ("You're right, Uncle-ma is an idiot. But he cared so much for Papa-ma to even give him a chance at life...at the cost of his own...But still, Papa-ma's alone now.")

 _("Sweet-P he ain't alone, he gotchu! And ain't nobody gon take that from him! And if I know my baby brother right, he knows that to. What happened to your mother though? Shouldn't she be keepin an eye on him?")_

("She...passed away when I was born…")

 _("Oh honey I'm so so sorry...but given your speech pattern...I think I know who you're mother was...haha...he got the girl he wanted...that's nice. Culture mixing is also nice. Look here. Just note that your old man shouldn't feel upset or alone. And if you ever feel like he is. Go on over to him and slap him hard across the face! You have my permission! If he asks why, just say your uncle told you to! That should drain the color off his face.")_

Ma-san simply smiles at his attempt to lighten the mood ("Will do.")

Parappa surprises Dino-Might as he speaks up ("Ma-san certainly does care for the people she's close to! She was ready to slap you all senseless for causing grief to her dad. Why when we returned home after hearing the story, she was livid over anyone trying to defend your actions, then I told her that it was better this way. A world without a Ma-san would suck…")

 _("He cares for our kin AND speaks like us?!")_ He turns to Ma-san who's fuse ignited with a pink color, causing him to whisper to her _("You gonna let a boy rile your emotions like that? Hehe...you're just like Marcel when it comes to people they like.")_ Her dynamite explodes in a miniature explosion that engulfs Uncle-ma and Ma-san's heads, leaving them covered in soot. This all causes Marron to laugh _("Better lasso him quick baby! Before your temper does him in!")_

("Whatever…") she begins wiping the soot off her face.

Marron turns to Parappa _("Baby, your free to finish our mark now...and thanks...all of you. For keeping us in your hearts. Lordie knows we don't deserve it, but we feel blessed all the same.)_ Parappa nods, but upon finishing the second step, they all instead fly into Ma-san's dynamite.

("W-Whoa!...a little warning would've been nice!) She scoffs a bit before releasing a light chuckle.

"That leaves Flambeyond! Care to help me out Lammy?"

"S-Sure!" She huddles over to his side "Ok so in the dino's mouth...you need to draw a skull with snakes coming out of the eye sockets...hey...that looks...familiar…"

"Lammy it looks like your logo!"

"It makes sense since her grandfather did become leader of this new group…, but man it is not an easy logo to sew…" Once Parappa gets close to completing it, El Dorado appears on cue.

"Buen Dias! Quien fue el que me llamo?"

"E-El!...Y-Yo!...L-Los dos!..."

"Ohohohoh! Mira que tenemos aqui! Quien es esta chica! Tu te pareces a mi!" He simply claps his hands with glee.

"S-Si!...soy tu nieta!..."

"Eso es verda?! Rebien!" He grabs her hands and begins floating up and down "Mira como bonita tu eres! Me alegra mucho!" Lammy simply blushes "G-Grandpa s-stoppppp...you're embarrassing meeee…"

"This is goldy boy?"

("Or goldilocks")

El Dorado stops in place and looks at Katy and Ma-san "I STILL have those nicknames?!...I thought I finally earned the title of The Golden One...U-Uh I mean- C-Como saben esos nombres?" The four of them simply look at him "Ok the jig is up…"

"W-We're you trying to sound c-cool and sophisticated by speaking only in s-spanish?..." Lammy looks at her grandfather, upset at said fact.

"I...yeah...I was. Regular me...nobody cared about...once I donned this mask, I became El Dorado...a whole different person...one that people then started giving a hoot about…"

"Just like me and my g-guitar…"

"Is that so?...Sorry you had to inherit that part of me…"

"I-I don't mind it! I actually got to meet a lot of great people thanks to playing my guitar!"

"R-Really?...I wish I had people in my life the same as your friends."

"But Mr. Golden one! You did! The guys at Flambeyond said you were a great guy! Even Miss Lupe thought you were a decent guy!"

"They...did?..."

"Yeah! Grandma did however say you were a bit of a dunce…but that you got really upset once she was...well you know…"

"Yeah...well...love does drive you to do stupid things…"

"L-Love?"

"Yeah...as a single father...and her a single mother...I...tried...and...she almost started letting me...then...we both died…"

"Why even start up fighting? I recall the Flambe saying you were rather against such a thing..."

"Well here's the thing...the sole remaining member of Dino was in our base...alone...upset...devastated...and...just all that riled me up something fierce...he was a kid! He wasn't supposed to be worrying about death and destruction! A kid his age should've been worrying over homework or if his favorite park will be closed or not! Not...that...I couldn't sit still...I put on my mask...not only to change me into El Dorado...but to hide the tears...the tears of empathy or Dino-MIght...and the tears of fear...I probably wouldn't survive...but no...I single handedly destroyed the remainder of the Ravens...but that didn't mean I was unbeatable...I learned that when it came to buying everyone time to run...at first it was just me trying to avenge Lupe...but that went down the drain fast...I was in over my head...so all I could do...was live so that they could focus on me...so that the other could just and never look back...then my legs were broken and I stayed on the ground...that was it, the following second...my world ended."

"I-I'm sorry grandpa…"

"Don't be sweetie. I CHOSE to do all that, watching Marcel and Lupe just ignited something in me, to do things I regularly wouldn't do...even with my mask off!"

"That's j-just like me and MIlkCan!"

"It's funny seeing as our families met beforehand...like it was destined!"

"You three are in a band?! My descendant, Lupe's descendant and Marcel's daughter? What are the odds! My dear granddaughter you said you play guitar correct?" she nods "Oh how I do love how guitars sound like! I can always dance to one!"

"Yeah Mr. Magnus and Bunsen filled us in on that!"

"I wish I could have you play for me...but in this form...I don't have legs to dance with…"

"I-I'm sorry…"

"Again mija, it's fine! How's your mother?...Is she...upset with me?..."

"I-I think so...they were even so adamant about being against my love for music…"

"Haha...I see...so she blames that instead of me...or maybe she blames both?..." He floats towards Lammy again "I'm so sorry...I could apologize a thousand times...but it would never do anything different...so I'll instead say thank you. Thank you for remember a goof like me...all of us." The remainder of Flambeyond appear behind him "Oye chico, termina mi mark porfavor."

"Huh?"

"He says to f-finish the symbol please."

"Oh right!" Parappa gets right on it.

"Sweetie, what's your name?"

"L-Lammy!"

"Lammy, keep being headstrong alright?"

"She already is Mr Golden One! Not only is Lammy headstrong enough as is! But also one for people to rely on for when the going gets tough! I should know, cuz i've witnessed it first hand!" Parappa says without turning around, simply wagging his tail.

"Is that so mijo?" When he turns back to Lammy, he sees her face glowing red, prompting him to smile and whisper to her "You better get him quick~ Love waits for no lamb~" This simply causes the rest of her face to turn pink now instead "Oh dear...here! Hide your face behind this!" He removes his mask and places it on her face.

"W-Wait! Won't you n-need this?..."

"Where I'm going? Not really...but in all actuality? Even if I could, I still would give it to you. It'd be better passed down." she simply nods.

"Done!"

"Very well. My time here is done! Goodbye to you all...and from the bottom of my spectral heart...thank you so much for remembering those who made poor choices…"

"B-Before you leave! C-Can I know your real name grandpa?..."

"Ah….it's uh...T-Tupper…" he scratches the back of his head.

"T-That's a nice name~.."

"Thank you dear. And goodbye." The members of Flambeyond fly into Parappa's hat.

"Your grandpa's a nice guy." Katy says as she walks up to Lammy.

("Equally as a mess as you! But not as adorable as you that's for sure.")

"Ma-san!"

("What? It is true! He can't pull off that as effectively as a girl can!") Lammy simply laughs.

"Yeah well, it was nice hearing from him." She adjusts the mask that he gave her, trying to make it look proper.

"Hey Lammy, I think that mask, plus the beanie I gave you would fit well!"

"O-Oh I uh...d-dunno about that~..."

("Try it!")

"M-Maybe later!...h-heh..."

Parappa moves on to Skyhigh, a symbol of a ravine with a storm blowing in between. When they appear, they are all an assortment of birds.

"Oh lookie here...you lot actually wanna keep our spirits going?"

"Of course! All of you don't deserve to be forgotten!"

"Hahaha! Oh this is rich!...wait...you're serious? You...want to remember fools like us?..."

"You guys can't really be called fools when you were goaded into doing this…"

"Just...finish our symbol please…"

("Geez rude much!")

"Remember Ma-san, Skyhigh didn't really...like anybody…" Katy says as the members simply eye them down.

They dive into Parappa's hat before he fully finishes, wanting to leave as quickly as possible.

"Man that was...awkward…"

("No kidding! Next!")

The next step was adding on Dragonhaven to Skyhighs insignia, but they were silent, and left faster than skyhigh. Only uttering a simple "thank you for the honor" before leaving.

"Man no wonder they got along with Skyhigh…"

"Blegh...who's left?..."

"That leaves the Ravens, the Royals and the two inventing based groups of Allies of the Funk and Soul Machine…"

The Ravens said nothing, they refused to thank anyone and just vanished upon being called.

("Jerks! No wonder everyone hated these guys!... In fact the three of these all sucked! Like what the heck they all seemed really spiteful...and the two priors were supposed to be helpers?!")

"Agreed…"

"Y-You could feel t-the hostility s-seeping from them!"

"N-Next…actually...Parappa you sure you want to have their symbol?"

"Like it or not, they were one of the founding fathers of music in general. So I gotta have em. No matter how bad they are they're still a reason we even have music at all! And with Skyhigh and Dragonhaven they did still end up helping...and some of them even became Allies of the Funk so not all of them are like that."

"Eh...if you say so."

The royals were a different story, only King Rock and Queen Roll appeared, prompting everyone but Ma-san to kneel. Only for them to notice that the Royals themselves were kneeling.

"Children of today that choose to care for us, despite our mistakes. Ours were the most destructive and yet you both seek to remember us." King says as he stays knelt.

"We do not deserve your kindness, for we were the biggest fools of them all..." Queen says as she heaves a sigh of despair.

"N-No your majesties! You were doing something that someone who messed with your thinking wanted!"

"Yes...that bastard made us believe that only we mattered...but in actuality...no one matters when they try to strip away music from one another…You have my praise for choosing to remember us. And with that, me and my legion thank you."

"As do I. I do so wish that you lot push the form of music into a new frontier where we don't needlessly fight to take it away from one another." They both place a giant hand on Parappa's head, nearly squishing him due to their size, and nodded before disappearing into his hat on the table.

("Now THAT'S more like it!") Ma-san feels a swelling ego within her after seeing the Royal's bowing to them instead.

"They seemed so nice...it's sad that they had to be the bad guys throughout most of it…" Katy frowns as her tail droops to the floor.

"Um...w-what were they?..." Lammy stays puzzled on what to make of the two she just saw.

"I have no clue...they...had a centaur's lower body, but a minotaur's upper half...all while being alienish in appearance?...All I know is that it was intimidating as all heck!"

"No kidding! Move on to the next group please Parappa!" Katy simply shudders from their presence alone.

"Ok that only leaves...actually...let's go with Groove Machine first."

Groove Machine was rather odd, they didn't say thank you as they already felt remembered enough thanks to Parappa's existence alone. And simply praised him before going into his hat, Upon changing it to Soul Machine. The same result, the others simply felt that they were already remembered by Parappa simply existing. And simply petted him on the head and dove into his hat.

("It figures the group your dad was from would be pretty quick and simple.")

"Guess dad was the only one to never give up on his old group buddies...and like Poppy said, there were some Garden Love members in Soul Machine!"

"That leaves Allies of the Funk! I wonder who we'll see there! Add it on top of Soul Machine to get Soul of the Funk already!"

"On it!" Parappa finishes adding on the final symbol to see who he gets to talk to, but only one spirit visits them, and it leaves both Parappa and Katy speechless. Until Parappa finally musters up the strength to speak.

"M-Mom?..."

* * *

It was quiet in Mushi's studio, nothing was happening and it was rather peaceful. But no one could deny that it was also boring.

"Heh...I still can't believe those guys actually wanted those posters. Didn't think anybody would wanna remember such a tragic past. All thanks to YOU!" He throws a dart a picture of a crocodile mans face, it already being covered with several darts "You probably don't even remember them anymore...as you constantly mess up the lives of anyone who dares show their appreciation of music…" he throws another dart "You're probably doing that right now...taking advantage of people by using what they love…" he gets ready to throw another dart, but is distracted by the phone.

"A call? At THIS our? Wonder who it could be…" He decides to answer "Hello! Good old King Kong here! How can I help-"

"Hello Mushi! How great of you to pick up."

"...no…"

"Hahah, still the same reply after all these years."

"...nononononono."

"Why don't you hang up on me then dear Mushi?"

"What the hell do you want S-P?!"

"With you? Oh the usual! But I also expect the usual reply, so I won't bother...yet. I actually wanted to ask you about something. You have a protege don't you?"

"No...I don't."

"Oh how selfish Mushi! Please inform me as to who he or she is!"

"Never."

"Oh is that how it's going to be? Then I guess I'll have to look up things for myself!"

"YOU THINK I'D LET YOU?!"

"Ohohohoho dear Mushi, you can't stop me."

"I could have ruined you years ago! During that massive destruction fest that YOU caused!"

"And yet you didn't. Because you knew you couldn't do anything to me. In the long run i'd win. And that would put the group you were in at the time up at stake. Even now you fear me."

"I don't fear you."

"Then why don't you do anything to me now?"

"..."

"You are pathetic, like a hapless dog being treated like dirt, unable to fight back...speaking about dogs, from what I gathered, that's what species your protege is. Am I not correct?"

"I will not answer you."

"Fair enough, i'll find out on my own eventually. I just want to have a...small chat with them! Nothing more nothing less."

"You even so much as get within ten feet of him I swear I will-"

"Ah so it's a boy! That makes the search marginally easier!" Mushi begins punching himself in the head for letting that slip "Well Mushi, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have loads of searching to do!" he hangs up leaving Mushi in complete anger with himself.

"No...this is all just a bad nightmare…"

* * *

"M-Mom?..."

"M-Mrs. Rappa?..."

The ghost in front of them was in fact Parappa's mother.

"B-But...where's the rest of Allies of the F-Funk…"

"I assume they stayed with their appropriate groups. Leaving me as the sole member of the Allies…" She simply smiles at the duo who just cry against their better control "Ooooooh! Look how handsome my little man grew up to be! This is just to much for me!"

"M-Moooom...hehe…~"

"And Katy! Such a beautiful young lady you grew to be! You're just gorgeous!"

"A-Ahahaww...s-stop it…~"

"I'm so proud of the two of you! You look like you both handled yourselves greatly!" She grabs the two of them in a huge hug, the duo waste no time hugging back "Hey but wait a sec, this isn't our house." she gasps "Are you two LIVING together?!"

"W-Well uh...y-yeah…"

"E-Eheh yeah we kinda are…"

Now it's her turn to cry "Oh this is such a beautiful thing, the fact that you two are now in a relationship together is probably the cherry on top of the cake for me."

"Heheh yeah-...wait...WAIT!" Both immediately try to clear the mistake.

"M-MOM W-WE'RE NOT MARRIED OR ANYTHING!.."

"N-NO! W-WE'RE JUST ROOMING TOGETHER IS ALL!"

("Oy vey, this is just to hilarious.") Ma-san falls onto her back laughing.

"I-I think it's a bit to awkward for my liking…" Lammy rubs her arms, but not for the reason she just stated.

"L-LOOK! S-See? W-We have other roommates!"

Mama Rappa simply notices the other two "Oh dear...Parappa I didn't raise you to be this kind of person!"

"MOM IT'S NOT THAT EITHER!..."

After a bit of hectic explaining the point gets across, they however had to explain...recent bad events.

"Ah…"

"Y-Yeah…"

"It's not like you to let things get to you in that manner...then again, it hasn't really happened often for you to steel yourself against…"

"I'm sorry…"

"It's fine, I'm just glad your friends helped you when they did! It would've killed me to see my son that way…"

"Heh...yeah…"

"You two are Ma-san and Lammy then correct."

"Y-Yes t-that's me!..."

("Right here!")

Mama Rappa simply looks at Ma-san.

("Oh right…") "Yes I'm Ma-san"

"Sorry I couldn't understand you dear!..."

"I get that alot, it's fine."

"Ok so...you've fully healed...both physically and emotionally right?"

"Yeah! It's thanks to everyone, but Katy most of all."

"Atta girl! I knew he could count on you!"

"Ohohoh stop…~" She bashfully plays with her hair.

"I hope Parappa is at the very least behaving himself around you three!"

"M-MOM SERIOUSLY?! H-Have SOME faith in me!..."

The trio simply laugh and reply in unison "He's behaving!...for now~"

"H-Hey!..."

She understands the joke, but decides to play along "Is that sooooo?"

"Y-You don't actually believe them do you!"

"One boy, in an apartment with four nice girls around his age? Believing you is really hard right about now."

"W-Whyyy!..." The four simply laugh "Of course…probably should've seen you were all messing with me."

"Lighten up Parappa! You'd think you'd be more cheery seeing me back."

"I am…,but I know you'll just leave again in the end anyway…"

"Oh...hm…" She ponders "Well, i'd like to rest in peace...buuuuut…." she places one hand over Parappa's chest and her other on Katy's.

"U-Uh…"

"Mrs. Rappa what are you-" once she removes her hands, a white light is left in their chests.

"If you two ever wanna talk to me, you just have to be together and just call for me, and I'll arrive!" They smile and nod.

"Now how do you know of Allies of the Funk? Last thing I ever would want you two to know about is that war…"

"We kinda found out through Mushi's posters…"

"Mushi?...Oh the MC at Club Fun. I understand now. Well, judging by your hat. You've immortalized all the other groups. And I think they're all happy. Even the jerks, although you'll never get them to admit that!"

"We noticed...man the Ravens were just soooo….blegh…."

"Yeah they were sadists pretty much, but it's thanks to them we have music." she rubs her chin "But I mean...Skyhigh, Dragonhaven, Cruisin' Blues and Flambe weren't exactly...different...they were also jerks and everybody somehow got along with each other! Just goes to show how silly everyone was for fighting over music! And I'm just glad you four didn't grow up to end up like any of them."

"On that topic! Thanks to an idea Parappa brought up! We're a group of our own now!"

"Oh?"

"Well we still need to finalize somethings, and we're still our individual things as well. But we're now the little group of Leavin' to Believin'!"

"Oh now that's a sweet name."

"Isn't it?" Katy gets behind Lammy and pushes her forward "She thought of it!"

"K-Katy!..."

"What? Take the credit!"

"Okok...I just don't...think a name I picked is all that s-special…" Lammy simply looks to the floor.

Mama Rappa lifts up Lammy's head "Dear you should have more confidence in yourself! If your close friends say it's a great name, then doesn't that give you enough proof?" Lammy doesn't reply, at least not immediately. She then nods with a smile on her face, then takes a deep breath.

"Sometimes it's hard for me to have any sort of faith in myself. I rarely, if ever, see what they all see in me, but at the same time I'm super happy they see something in me at all!" Katy nearly crushes Lammy in a hug.

"Of course we see you that way Lammy! Cause you're just that amazing!" Parappa then joins in on the hug.

"Exactly, like I always say, you're amazing in many ways, and are constantly proving me right!" Ma-san then joins in, completely smashing the wind out of Lammy's lungs.

"You may be meek here and there at times, but you always pull through!"

"Thanks!...but...please….let…..go….c-can't….breathe…." They notice and quickly let go.

"Sorry Lammy!"

"Y-Yeah my bad! Kinda got over sentimental!..."

"Eh, I purposely went and hugged as hard as I could."

"See dear? Doesn't this give you the motivation to see it for yourself."

Lammy was still struggling to catch her breath, so her reply was simply a thumbs up.

"Good!...well now it's time for me to take my leave. I'll see you all when next you call me! And thank you all for keeping those oldies memories alive! Even me!" rather than go into his hat like the rest, she dives into Parappa himself!

"W-Whaaa- that feels cold!..." He shakes himself like a dog shaking off water "Well, this was an immerseful experience! And it showed a lot about the old guys! They were somewhat nice...just coaxed into doing the wrong thing...and I even got to see mom again! That totally erased any negativity Skyhigh or the Ravens left!"

"I'll say!"

("Your mom certainly is entertaining.")

"A-And really nice…~"

"Yeah, glad to see she still is!...but man was that exhausting…"

"No kidding…"

"I'm pretty much ok."

("You fainted, twice. Of course you're decently rested!")

"I think it's best we all hit the hay after tonight, to much emotional release for my liking..."

"I'm gonna stay awake for a bit longer. Don't feel sleepy. So I might actually just stay in my room and tune my guitar."

The trio leave Parappa's room to do their own thing while Parappa simply looks at his new decked out hat and sighs.

"I'm glad I finally finished...but man that was heavy on me..." he places a hand on his chest, he feels the cold sensation again, but it quickly disperses "But something good came out of it~..." he hops onto his bed "Well tomorrow we gotta clean that pond again so I better sleep now to wake up as early as I can." His eyes refuse to close "Oooooooh I just can't sleep!..."

* * *

Lammy simply sits in her room, trying to tune her guitar for a good few seconds before giving up.

"Man that was something...abuelito was such a contrast to what I expected which was nice, learning about Katy, Ma-san and Parappa's heritage was also a fun treat...but man I wish I could have a spine for once when it came to being involved...they believe I can and here I am just...all a mess…" she places her guitar back in the case "Ohhh...all this makes my stomach hurt…" She just flops onto her bed "I'm pathetic…" as she body slammed her bed, she caused all the stuff that was lined all about it to plop into the air and disperse. Except for the hat that Parappa gave her, which lands directly on top of her head "Hah...what are the odds of that happening." She adjusts the beanie to sit properly on her head "It's funny...I feel calmer with this on...as if I was holding my guitar in my hands, and yet it feels more effective than that...of course I can't just waltz everywhere with this on! People would get the wrong idea…" She reclines back onto the bed.

 _But maybe I'd like that?_ She recalls Parappa slumping in from work today and what he brought up.

"Paula's certainly lucky…" _Why am I jealous of that? It's not like they're actually dating...or that I have a shot with him…_ she sighs "And Katy's also lucky with Parappa's mom thinking they have a shot!...But I also feel bad since Katy doesn't like Parappa that way." _Which is nice since she IS trying to help me get together with him….but...does she also like him? Her reaction was rather odd when both her grandmother and Parappa's mother brought it up... Nah...she wouldn't be helping me if she did. And of course she'd react that way! Who wouldn't when it comes to love?..._ "I know I always would...heh." She pulls the beanie over her head to hide her own blush and embarrassment, no one is there, but it's become instinct to her at this point. "Ohhhh…I really am a mess…" She fixes the beanie and just sighs "Maybe I should get some sleep...It'd probably help me air out my thoughts...actually wait!...I have to help the others at that Pond tomorrow!...Yikes!...can't believe I almost forgot!...I'll just set my alarm to wake me up earlier to make up for it...there!" She rests her head on her pillow, attempting to sleep, but quickly notices she forgot to remove the beanie "Whoops, gotta take this off." As she grabs it, she stops herself "Maybe…just for tonight…"

 _Who knows, maybe i'll dream up something nice this way…~_


	10. Love and War

The morning arrives faster than anyone's real anticipation and still Lammy seems to be the only one who ran late.

"I can't believe I'm late! I had my alarm and everything! H-How did it not wake me up!...What's worse is that they left without me! They probably thought it was for the better that I rest...oooohhh…" She taps the sides of her head "I'm such a bother...ok so they're going to the place Katy took them that was at the park...but I don't know the way!..." She frantically runs in place "I'll call Katy- w-where's my phone?!..." she begins emptying her pockets only to come to the conclusion that she left her cellphone at home "G-Guess I gotta wing it!..." She runs towards the park and immediately books it towards the mini forest "Okokokok…" She takes a deep breath "H-Here we go!..." She runs in and traverses where she can, she recalls hearing Joe bring up footprints along the ground, but she sees none anywhere, and even worse, she can no longer find her way back.

 _Where am I?...where's the way out?..._ she stumbled around, no matter which direction she ran, she couldn't get out "N-No…" _Is this it for me?...am I just gonna wander around here forever?_ "W-Why didn't I just wait…" She immediately just huddles into her knees onto the ground, trying to do her best not to cry even though she knows, it's all she can do given her brash decision making.

As she stays on the ground, her tears simply leave her eyes, she doesn't bother calling for help as no one would hear her. And even if they could, they'd probably get lost as well while trying to find her. Then she felt someone grab one of her hands.

"H-Huh?..." her waterlogged eyes and the slight beaming sunlight from the mini openings amongst the tree leaves blocks her vision from seeing who the person is.

"Here you are!..." The voice she hears rings in her head, it was Parappa's "Don't cry...you're gonna be ok! You just got a little lost is all, i'll help you out!" his words actually manage to get her to stop sobbing as he helps her up, now that she's not staring at the sunlight, she can see that it really is Parappa and not her mind fooling her. Upon getting up he immediately begins running off while still holding onto her "Come on! I'll get us back on track!"

"B-But what if we just get even m-more lost!..."

He doesn't stop running, nor turns to look at her as to not run into trees, he simply replies with "Then at least I'd be lost with you! That wouldn't be as bad."

"O-Oh b-but y-you would-"

"Don't worry ok? No matter the end outcome, it's all gonna be ok." she feels him squeeze her hand tighter "I just know it will be, you make it feel that way." He glances towards her "You believe to right?" Her face glows red as she also grips onto his hand much more tightly, but she feels at ease, she doesn't feel anxious, and when she replies she no longer stutters.

"I do believe!"

"That's all I needed to hear. I promise you that it will always be ok, I know it always is cuz I have you by my side to guarantee it! Do you feel the same?"

"I do! I really really do!"

"Do you promise?..."

"I do promise!" She soon sees in the distance a gleaming white light, signifying that they found an exit, was it the way to the pond or the way out? She didn't know. And she didn't really care, she was more attentive to what was happening now.

"You look like you're getting so worked up. What's wrong?" he resumes looking forward.

"I-It's nothing it's-" her stuttering tries to return, but she manages to break on by much to her own amazement "It's just that…"

"That?"

"I'm here! With you!"

"Is that a problem?..."

"N-No! Never! Of course not!...it's just that I…"

"You what?"

"L-LIke you!"

"Well of course you like me! It'd be awkward being best friends if you didn't…" he still keeps his vision forward which adds on to her difficulty in saying what she wants to.

 _Noooo...t-that's not it!..._ "I-I mean I…"

"Hm?..."

"L-L…"

"L?" she feels his grip on her hand loosen.

 _D-Don't let go!..._ "L-Lo…"

"..."

 _P-Please!..._ "I LOVE YOU!..." They stop in their tracks, right by the path opening, but still back enough to not see what lies beyond the blinding white light. Parappa simply turns his head to the side slightly with a smile beginning to form.

"That's a relief…"

 _W-Wha?..._ "Why's that?..."

He fully looks at her, with a slight blush across his face, his smile beaming almost as brightly as the light before them "Because...I love you to!" He pulls her in for a hug as they fall past the barrier of light.

* * *

The alarm blares heavily in Lammy's ears as she wakes up in a panic screaming fest.

"I LOVE YO-..." She quickly covers her mouth resulting in muffled screaming. As her hands rest on her face, she can feel the intense heat radiating from her face.

"LAMMY ARE YOU OK?!' Parappa bursts through the door, his eyes appear to be red with black shadows under his eyes.

"Mmph!..." Lammy manages to pry her hands off "I-I'm fine!...just uh...a dream is all."

"Oh...phew...man I was caught off guard by that scream…"

"I'm sorry!...wait…" She notices his appearance "D-Did you even sleep at all?..."

"Ah...not really...after seeing my mother again I kinda got to jittery to sleep... hehe...whoops…"

"P-Parappa! Doctor's orders were to NOT do t-that!..." he flinches at her bringing it up causing him to whine like a puppy.

"You're right...my ba-" Parappa is tosses aside as Katy sends him flying when she arrives "LAMMY ARE YOU OK?!..." Lammy could see her shirt was on backwards, meaning she was trying to get dressed before going to figure out if she was ok. She also noticed her own sleepless eyes, meaning she probably stayed away for the same reason Parappa did.

"I-I'm perfectly fine!...H-However…"

"Oooowwww…." Parappa slides off the wall and onto the floor head first.

"I don't think he is…" She hops off her bed and rushes to his side as Katy does the same.

"I'm sorry Parappa! I didn't see you as I was rather...still groggy…"

"It's fine haha...ow...You weren't groggy enough to get dressed this time though heh…"

"Eheh...instinct...I know we're supposed to be used to it but I guess I panicked through my tired state…"

"I take it seeing my mom again didn't let you sleep either?"

"Exactly!-...wait...you didn't sleep either?! Parappa!..."

"I-I know I know...Lammy already yelled at me for it…"

"Still! Even just doing it once can be harmful to you in this state!..."

"I know!...just...I'm to...overemotional!..."

"No excuses! Your mom wouldn't have wanted you to!..."

"G-Gah…" he stiffens up.

"You gotta hit the hay right now!"

"But we gotta go to the pond to clean it today! We'd be wasting time that could be-"

"Nu-uh, Look it'll be five people handling it this time rather than just us two. It'll be fine! Now march to your bed! I'll be keeping watch over you to make sure you fall asleep!"

"Isn't that a bit much?" She simply stares at him "You're right…"

"Actually Katy...you look like you could use the sleep to...mind if I watch over him?" Katy gets caught off guard by this, both because, Lammy said it so calmly, but also because she wanted to try some advances of her own. But she shook those thoughts off. "Um...ok! You have a point, I might nod off and not know if he's sleeping or not! I'd probably end up asleep quickly while he's the one watching over me!"

"Oh come on I wouldn't do that…" She crosses her arms and stares at him again "Okok I'll do my best to get some shut eye...but before I go, Lammy you said a dream got you to scream that loud, what the heck kinda nightmare was it? No dream would cause that type of terror screaming."

"O-Oh uh...y-yeah it was a nightmare through and through...heh…" _It's more of a nightmare to come clean about what it actually was that caused me to scream...and at the same time…_

" _Because...I love you to!"_

 _I'm almost upset I can't...because it didn't really happen…_ "But I'm fine! It's not real...only just...a dream…"

Both Parappa and Katy look at each other before looking back to her "You...still seem upset though…" Katy says as she tries to look into her eyes.

"A-Ah! It's nothing r-really! I rather not e-explain as to not remember it! T-The sooner I forget, the faster I p-perk back up!"

Parappa grabs her hand causing her to tense up "Are you sure you'll be fine?..."

"Of course!"

"Do you promise?…" Him saying those words simply made her body go on autopilot.

"I do promise!" Her hand tightly grips his.

"Well...Don't worry ok? No matter the end outcome, it's all gonna be ok." his grip also tightens "I promise!...you...believe me?..."

She notices him beginning to wobble, his eyes struggle to keep open "Uh oh...seems like the exhaustion kicked in…" as if on cue, both Parappa and Katy yawn as they both fumble in place, Katy nearly topples over "W-Whoa! Easy there!...Uh...Parappa mind waiting here for a bit while I help Katy to her bed?..."

"Sure!..." He gives a thumbs up before releasing another yawn.

"Good! Alright come on Katy…" she gets Katy to hold onto her for balance support as she carries her over.

"I'm sorry...I'm just so...tired…all of a sudden..."

"I can see that! Doesn't help that you two are just yawning at each other causing more drowsiness!"

"Sheeh… Sorry...mom…" Katy's head flops onto her shoulder as she falls asleep, making it a bit more of a hassle to carry her.

"Man...this reminds me of our early days starting out! You always tire yourself out in one way or another...and I have to carry you to bed...at least this time you're not vomiting everywhere…" she can't help but laugh at remembering the first ever time this happened as she stops advancing towards Katy's room "What were you even thinking when you got those drinks? We weren't even of age to drink, and second off, you cannot stomach any form of alcohol whatsoever! One sip and you're instantly a mess!" Katy grumbles in her sleep as if she knew she was being talked about "Heh...oh boy...I'm actually glad this happened...remembering those days where we were more so off as loose cannons was a lot more fun, now here we are struggling to pay for this place! At least we were...Parappa really helped out so much with that...but I can't help but feel guilty you know?" Katy's only reply is drool dripping from her mouth "Ehehehew! Ok let's get you to bed." she enters her friends room and places her onto the bed, then takes a moment to glance around the room. Photos of MilkCan's events and concerts all hang up on the wall.

"To think that this all started from one single jam session...then Parappa encouraged you to start a band...and now...five years later here we are! A big hit...but man is our daily life way different from our MilkCan one!" she laughs at the fact "I'm really happy I got to meet the three of you...I feel like I blossomed into my own person way more than I ever would have had I not decided to continue practicing my guitar…I know I probably say this a lot, but thank you guys for being there when I needed someone the most."

"You're welcome...and thank you to Lammy...~" Katy mutters with one of her eyes half open surprising her.

"Sleeeeeeep~" she tosses the bed sheet over her.

"Yeah yeah…~" She snuggles into her pillow before resuming her sleep.

"You're the best friend a lamb could ever ask for!" She turns off the room lights and shuts the door as she returns back to her own room, only to see Parappa gone "W-Wha?...D-Did he walk back to his room on his own?...I hope he didn't bump into anything…" She walks over to her own bed "Well, I think I might as well get some extra shut eye since they'll be needing the sleep...and hey, I might be able to continue that dream some more…" as she attempts to lay back, she lands on something lumpy under the bed sheets "Oh no…don't tell me…" she lifts up the sheets and spots a sleeping Parappa, she nearly screamed on the spot, but managed to shut her mouth in time. _D-Don't scream! Not again!...remember what happened his first night here and literally just moments ago…_ she takes a deep breath "Ok...I'll just carry-..." she places her hand on her chest, the same hand he held while in the dream and while awake. Her other hand grabs the beanie still on her head, she would've panicked over forgetting to take it off but instead she smiles as she instead decides against it "Sure...let's just roll with it...~" She slides into the bed in a manner as to not bump into him or wake him up and adjusts the sheets so that it covers the both of them "There we go…" She looks at his sleeping face and simply smiles "I still believe you~..."

Parappa mumbles a bit before huddling up closer and nuzzling her face turning her into the equivalent of a volcano.

 _Oh please for the love of love, don't tell me this is just another dream!...please let me have this!..._ she decides to nuzzle him back to see if she'd wake up. Instead, she simply ends up nuzzling his fluffy face. _It's real!...I'm fully awake and this is really happening!..._ she stares at him while he just rests there "You are such a cute little guy aren't you?...heh...clearly you're more than just cute...and boy did it snatch my heart in an instant...I wish you knew…"

" _Because...I love you to!"_

"I wish that was the truth...but for now...I guess I can just enjoy being here…~" and idea then pops into her head "H-He is rather close...and...deep into his sleep...I could…" She stares at his lips "Very easily…" She touches her own lips "If I wanted to…" she rubs his face, he nuzzles her hand on instinct, not wanting her to let go "Let's...g-give it a shot…" She moves in closer, feeling the heat of his breath as she gets ever so closer...so near...right about to…-

 _I CAN'T DO IT…._ she rears her head back with a heavy sigh "I'm pathetic...oh well…" she simply adjusts herself into her pillow to try and fall asleep, once she succeeds, she is immediately forced awake once she feels Parappa lick her on the nose. Upon opening her eyes she sees that he is still asleep. She just latches onto him in a hug while cuddling him. _Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!..._ "That's technically a kiss for a dog~..." She resumes going back to sleep.

* * *

"L-L-LAMMY?!..." Parappa says as he opens his eyes, only to see the sleeping lamb.

"What is it…" a groggy Lammy says as she opens her eyes, once fully open she sees a red Parappa looking her straight in the face, with little distance separating them. _Him waking up completely slipped my mind…_

Both scuttle over to the opposite sides of the bed, doing their best not to scream.

"A-Ahaha...someone w-woke up…"

"Yeah heh...sorry it seems I...just knocked out on your bed...my bad...heh…"

"It's fine!...you at the very least look rested now!..."

"Yeah, thanks for letting me sleep here...and sorry for giving you the chore of making sure I slept…"

 _Right...I was supposed to do that...well...luckily he stayed asleep!..._ "It's perfectly ok! I-I just nodded off myself after a bit is all…!"

Both refused to look at each other as they simply laugh awkwardly, until Lammy speaks up to break the awkward air.

"S-So what woke you u-up?..."

"I uh...felt...that I was brushing into something super soft...it wasn't the pillow...and when I opened my eyes...well...heh...the rest should be obvious...I-I'm sorry!..."

 _ME super soft? Have you felt your fur? It's like hugging a cloud!_ "I-It's all good! T-Thanks for calling me super soft to…"

"O-Oh uh...right!...N-No problem!...I uh...b-better get going back to my room so that-" Lammy's hand quickly coils its fingers with his "U-Uh...L-Lammy?..."

 _SAY SOMETHING...ANYTHING!..._ "...thanks for getting some sleep. I'm glad you're doing your best to take care of yourself…" _Not what I wanted to say...but hey it's still nice and the truth…_

"Oh...well, I really have you and Katy to thank for that. I probably would have just laid in my bed and stared at the ceiling! Thanks for helping me."

"It's what a best friend would do."

"Hehe, when you're right you're right!" Lammy lets go of his hand.

"Now take care, I assume the other two are awake by now. If not, you're helping me make breakfast!" _Why did I say that._

"Hm...sure!"

"Great!" _Why did you agree to that._

"Well I'm off to get a fresh set of clothes for today. I'll be back if they are still asleep." He leaves her room and once he does she falls onto her back.

"Oh mannnnn…now my stomach decides to hate me…" she clutches her stomach to try and contain the butterflies "Ohhh…"

* * *

"I dunno how you could sleep for just an hour and still turn out fine!"

"I guess with how nonexistent sleep was to me for a year, my body will take what it can get!"

"That's...not a good thing…"

"Relax Katy! I'll make sure to sleep incase I get tired today and I won't miss out on sleeping tonight! I'll be fine! How was your sleep?"

"Mine was fun, dreamt about MilkCan's past and it's future and it was just lovely all around! How was yours?"

"Ahh...mine was nice...Although I did have a dream of some fluffy thing hugging me and nuzzling me…I did lick it and it tasted like cotton candy." Lammy nearly chokes on her coffee "Don't know what it was but all I do know was that it was a nice dream! Hope I have it again sometime!"

"You're weird and simple when it comes to dreams Parappa."

('Agreed.")

"Not everything has to be an out of the park hit with me! Besides not like I can control my dreams! I've tried!..."

"Re-laxxxxxx, I'm just teasin'. And hey you and Lammy should cook more often, the dishes are always so tasty!"

"Well after learning to start cooking thanks to PJ and Tamanegi sensei and a good chef teacher in Lammy. It only makes sense! Of course it's all still mainly thanks to Lammy."

"I-I really am no different than any other cook!...but thank you! I guess I'll take the compliment~..."

("Barf. Get a room.") after Ma-san says this, the two grow red in the face ("P-Pfft...oh you have got to be kidding...you have GOT to tell me what happened!") they sigh now that they've been caught.

* * *

"And that's pretty much it…"

("Man that's laaaaaame, I thought something much more risque happened.')

"H-Hey!..."

("Yo Lammy what's your side of the story?")

"J-Just...you know...pretty much the same. Just watching over him sleep…"

"While in the same bed?"

"W-While I was lugging you to your bed he fell asleep on mine!...and I guess I nodded off to…"

("Was he grabby?")

"N-No!...he was an ok sleeper!..."

("...were YOU grabby?")

"W-Wha- I...no!..."

("You got more defensive over that part, so that means Lil bo peep here took advantage of a snoozin mutt~")

"I-I didn't!..."

"I believe her! Lammy's not the kind of person to do that!" Parappa says as he crosses his arm, huffing in Lammy's defense.

("Oh you're no fun when you bring up facts!...") She rolls her eyes as she reclines her face on her hand ("Yeah you got me there, sorry Lambs.")

 _For once i'm glad that people think I'm to vanilla…_ "It's ok, I still have yet to get used to your jokes…"

("A fact I for one and glad for!") She grins as she reclines on her chair ("But quick thing...why are you wearing his hat again then?")

"O-OH!...I...uh...I...sleep...with it...on…"

("Pffft that doesn't really help your case now does it? But whatever! I still believe what the mutt says! I'll just keep this to myself whenever I need a good laugh!")

"I n-noticed...like usual…" She takes off the beanie and then heads of to her room to leave it off, after a minute she returns "Well...we going to fix up that pond or what?"

"Of course! You lot ready?"

"Yep! Already contacted Paula!"

("Sure. I wanna see how great that place can really look like!")

"Then let's clean up and go already!" Katy runs towards the kitchen sink to finish her part quickly.

"Hey!" Parappa follows suit.

"D-Do we have to make it a race?..." Lammy reluctantly follows.

("Whatever gets us there quicker…ain't getting me running for this though.") Ma-san just takes her time catching up.

* * *

"For the last time Ma-san, I wasn't gonna use the van to drive us from the house to the park...that's just flat out lazy…"

("We still had to walk quite the way…") Ma-san groans as she falls face first into the grass ("Carry me the rest of the way there…")

"Seriously?!...I'm not dragging you all the way there!"

"M-Ma-san come on…"

("If you two won't, then Parappa will you?")

"Fine…whatever to get you to move…"

("Ha! At least someone has common decency!")

"Ma-san! Don't abuse Parappa's kindness!"

("Neither of you wanted to help me.")

"YOU DON'T NEED HELP! YOU'RE JUST FLAT OUT BEING LAZY…"

("Eh...tomato, tomahto.")

"THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CURRENT SITUATION…"

"Katy it's fine! I don't mind it."

"Parappa don't encourage her!...It's not fair for you in the slightest."

"Yeah but I don't necessarily mind. It's all just a mini hurdle in getting to where we wanna be."

"B-But still Parappa, Katy has a p-point…"

"Eh, then I guess this is of my own free will."

"Ah...fine…"

With that said, Parappa lifts Ma-san onto his back, immediately she climbs up to his neck.

"W-Waaah!..."

("Much better.")

"Ok Parappa, THAT has to be crossing SOME boundaries…"

"It's all good...ow…She's pretty light so I don't mind…!"

"You are stubborn...ugh where's Paula? I wanna get there as soon as possible so she can get off of you…"

"I'm here! Was making a few new uniforms for tomorro- what's going on here?"

"Ma-san got lazy and took advantage of his kind nature."

"Ah… well, have fun with that...not like Ma-san would've made it to the pond without help anyway."

("What was that?") her dynamite flickers.

"Oh you heard me...you wouldn't be able to find the spot on your own~"

("OH IS THAT SO?") She hops off of Parappa ("BET I CAN FIND IT BEFORE YOU CAN!")

"Please, i'd win flawlessly~"

("Prove. It.")

"You're on!" They both run in screaming like lunatics.

"Ha, that actually got her to get off your head!...wait...neither of them know the way there...H-HEY WAIT! PAULA! MA-SAN!" She runs in after them with Parappa following.

"H-Hey wait for m-me-" Lammy stumbles and falls face first into the dirt, upon looking back up her friends are gone "Oh no...n-no! It'll be different this time!..I-I can find the way!..." As she heads in, she immediately panics and attempts to turn back only for a hand to grab hers.

"Hey! We almost left you behind! Man now that would've been bad wouldn't it? Glad I noticed and quickly ran back!" Parappa says as he pulls her forward "Come on Lammy, don't want you getting lost on us!"

"...Thank you~..."

* * *

Paula and Ma-san land through the clearing at the exact same time, both shouting "I WIN" upon doing so, only to get angry at each other and complaining that they were the first one there until Katy catches up and attempts to yell at them, but struggles to do so as she needs to catch her breath.

"You...guys...really...suck…" She takes a deep breath "What the hell...is wrong with the two of you?...You could've gotten lost!..."

"But I didn't!"

("Neither did I!")

"YEAH CUZ I WAS SHOUTING WHERE TO GO!..." Paula and Ma-san simply scoff and look away "You are both...c-children…" She stumbles and falls over until Parappa and Lammy catch her.

"Whoa!"

"C-Careful!"

"I'm fine!...but i'm gonna need a few minutes…"

"That's fine! We'll just start!"

"Thank you...here are the trash bags…"

"O-Ok! P-Paula, Ma-san...are you ready?..."

"I guess…"

("Yeah whatever…") both take a few bags and begin trying to clean the area along with Parappa and Lammy, they rarely get much done as they stay aggravated with each other.

"Sheesh Joe sure turned this area into a pigsty…"

("Well I mean those builder dudes are also partly to blame due to bringing those big machines in here...how the hell did they get in with toppling the trees?")

"Yeah how DID they?..."

"I rather not think about it...come on guys let's just keep fixing this place up…" Parappa notices all his bags are already full "Hey anyone have new bags? Mine are already full."

"Here you go man."

"Thanks PJ!" As he resumes cleaning, he quickly catches on "PJ?!"

"Yo." PJ waves as if he were there the entire time.

"What are you doing here?"

"I saw you and the others running towards the pond and decided to tag along, I figured it involved cleaning, so I brought Matt and Sweety."

"Sup man!"

"Good morning all!" the mentioned duo poke their heads from behind PJ.

"Oh wow... thanks for the consideration! This makes things go by even quicker! And we really need that since Katy already exhausted herself by making sure Ma-san and Paula didn't get themselves lost and with said duo still bickering with each other...we aren't getting much progress..."

"Then I'm glad I decided to intervene. You two ready?"

"Sure am dear!" Sweety says as she pulls out a few bags.

"I got your back man." Matt says as he pulls his own.

"Great! Then let's get to it!"

"Ready!" they say in unison as they raise their arms to the sky.

* * *

"W-We did it!"

"We really did!...and...it looks even cleaner than when we first cleaned the place up!...but…"

"But what?" Katy says, looking around to see if they missed anything, they removed everything they could see, including the cinder block Parappa threw. They even managed to help fix up the grass around the pond and still she saw nothing.

"The rock that Joe threw still has some bits in the middle of the pond!..."

"That's true...but we can't really do anything about that!"

"I can!..." Parappa tosses his shirt off and runs to the pond, as he runs PJ plucks the beanie off his head "H-Hey!"

"You just got a new one, do you already wanna ruin it?..."

"...Good point…" he carries on and runs into the water.

"P-Parappa you can't just expect to carry that while swimming back to land!..."

"I won't know unless I try!" Parappa shouts as he's already nearing the middle "Ok! Here we go!" As Parappa dives to try and pluck the rock from the bottom, he sees that he'll need to take it bit by bit from the top. _I'd try breaking it more to carry more pieces, but I can't exactly punch or kick well while underwater…_ He brings his head back above water while holding a piece of the block in one arm "This might take a while!..." As he tries to swim back, he is immediately slingshotted back underwater "W-WHOA-"

"PARAPPA!" Katy gets a second wind as she runs into the water.

"WE GOTCHA MAN!" Matt tosses his own shirt aside as he immediately dives in with PJ following suit.

Upon getting dragged down, he sees that seaweed has wrapped around his leg, as he tries to untangle it he simply makes it worse. _Seriously?!...Man what is WITH my luck?!..._ Parappa drops the stone and simply tries to pull the seaweed out of the ground instead, the seaweed however, starts tugging him, as if it were alive. _W-WHAT THE HELL?...L-Let go of me!..._

As Parappa starts getting dragged down deeper, he is immediately grabbed by Katy and Matt who try to pull him back up, however the 'seaweed' then latches onto them as well.

 _Gah! The hell is this?!..._

 _Does this thing have a mind of its own?!..._

The trio struggle to free themselves and soon begin to struggle with holding their breaths. As their actions start to slow, PJ grabs the three of them and yanks on them to the point he also uproots the 'seaweed'. The four are then launched above water. All of them gasping for air before Parappa speaks back up through the coughing.

"W-WE GOTTA….GET OUT OF THE WATER...N-NOW" The four waste no time in following that command as they strive to swim to shore, however as they near shore, the pond begins glowing as it soon starts trying to suck them back in to the middle "C-COME ON!..."

"H-HNGG...GAAAAH!.." Matt is submerged once again, until Parappa grabs his leg while PJ grabs him. While submerged Matt seas it's not the seaweed that was dragging them down and immediately speaks up the moment his head is brought back above water "PJ WHEN YOU REMOVED THE SEAWEED, I THINK YOU MIGHT'VE UNCORKED SOMETHING…"

"NO KIDDING!..."

"COME ON LESS CHATTER MORE SWIMMING!..." Katy says as she frantically tries to reach land. She is immediately grabbed by Lammy who tries to bring her back to shore.

"I-I got you! Now come on!..."

PJ is grabbed by Sweety, and Matt and Parappa are grabbed by Paula and Ma-san.

"Come on come on!..." Sweety says as she tries to help PJ get back onto land.

"H-HEY...YOU'RE IN MY WAY…!"

("NO!...Y-YOU'RE IN MY WAY!...") Both Ma-san and Paula resume clashing heads, this causes them to lose balance and get dragged into the water with the two they were trying to help.

"SERIOUSLY?!..." Katy Manages to grab Ma-san "YOU ARE STILL FIGHTING?! WE'RE CLEARLY IN THE MIDDLE OF A KINDA BIG SITUATION AND YOU STILL CHOOSE TO BICKER?!"

The weight becomes to much for Lammy as she gets dragged in with the five of them until PJ grabs her.

"NO!...NONONONONONONONO!..." PJ struggles to reel them all in "C-COME...ON…"

"I...CAN'T...HOLD...ALL OF...YOU!..." Sweety starts to slowly get dragged in as her feet are dragged through the dirt until she is just swept up with the rest of them.

The water starts to whirlpool them in as the vortex simply drags them down to the bottom of the center, as if being flushed.

"AAHHHHHHHHHH!" They all scream in unison until they are submerged into the abyss.

The light from the pond flashes leaving them all stunned as they get flung away from one another, and immediately after, it's silent. PItch black. Empty. There is no motions being made or voices to be heard. Just plain simple darkness.

* * *

" _I wanna come back to this place as many times as I can! Don't you Katy?...Katy?"_

" _Huh? Oh sorry kinda distracted…thinking of happier things~..."_

" _You whispered something 'forever' and just stared at the stars…"_

" _PJ don't eavesdrop on what another person says!"_

" _I can do as I please. I'm older than the two of you!"_

" _You're only seven…"_

" _And you two are six. Point being?"_

" _You're still not that older than us. You're even shorter than us!"_

" _Not to mention lazier than the two of us!"_

" _I need to preserve my energy."_

" _For what?"_

" _Sleeping."_

" _Of course…"_

" _Oh just let him Katy, it's easier to deal with him that way."_

" _Ok...so what did you wanna tell me?"_

" _Just that I wanted to come back here as many times as I can for as long as I can with you!"_

" _That'd be nice...but we will get busy as we grow up won't we?"_

" _That won't be a problem!"_

" _Parappa, growing up isn't as simple as that you know."_

" _Oh hush up PJ!...hey why are you laughing Katy?"_

" _You two bicker like brothers! It's so funny to watch!"_

" _Us brothers?"_

" _No way! We're totally different!"_

" _Why does that have to stop ya? If anything it just makes it seem like the more obvious thing...at least in my opinion!"_

" _Your opinion stinks."_

" _Agreed!"_

" _H-Hey! You meanies!...Don't tag team on the only girl here-...what's that?..."_

" _Hey don't change the subject-...oh...uh...is the pond supposed to do that?..."_

" _No pond i've ever seen did that, unless a toilet counts as a pond."_

" _PJ, now's not the time to be gross!"_

" _It was a serious answer."_

" _Whatever...wanna check it out?..."_

" _I-I dunno...looks kinda...scary and dangerous…"_

" _I'm with her Parappa, it might not be a good idea to jump in that…"_

" _Yeah...I guess you're right…hey...I hear...voices?..."_

" _What?...oh!...hey I hear them to! They're all grown ups!...are they...yelling?..."_

" _Sounds like a fight."_

" _Who fights underwater?...I don't see anyone...or anything! The lights to bright!"_

" _Fish people."_

" _I don't think it's fish people...maybe we're all just tired and imagining this?"_

" _Or we're all hallucinating from staring at the stars for to long."_

" _Can that even happen?"_

" _I dunno, I just made it up."_

" _Ugh...I'm just gonna ignore the noise and just keep staring at the stars…"_

" _I'm with you there Katy!"_

" _Eh fine. Majority and all that."_

* * *

Parappa's eyes sorely open as he stares at the beating sun, he looks to his side to see PJ on his right and Katy on his left. In the same position as when they first sat together under the stars by the pond "What a weird...dream...couldn't see anything...only...hear…something...Guys...you two ok?..." he sits up to see that PJ is asleep, as evident by the bubble on his nose "Figures...did Katy get knocked out to?..." he nears her body and is immediately sent into a panic when he notes she isn't breathing _Ooooooh that's not good...QUICK! I gotta do SOMETHING!...uh...uhhh...CPR!_ As he attempts to do just that, he realizes exactly what it is that he has to do. … _actually...I'll do the other version! Where I press down on the victims che-_ he stops his thoughts _nope, first type is way less creepy...and grabby… now come on!...don't even think of it that way you freak! You're trying to help your friend!..._ He sighs as he simply begins, after a minute she jolts up, ejecting water from her mouth.

"HRK...ugh…"

"Oh thank goodness…"

"Oh man that was not fun...ugh what happened?..."

"You're guess is as good as mine...I just woke up and saw the two of you out cold, PJ because PJ and you...yeah...had to kinda...save you there…"

"Wha?..." She takes note of the water she coughed up "OH...T-Thank you!...Man I would've been a goner..."

 _See? She didn't think of it in that way! I thought you said you ejected these thoughts from your head!_ "I had to do something!"

"I'm glad you did! Sure as hell know he would've stayed there asleep!"

"Of course! I want nothing to happen to my friends!...Now...where are we?..."

"Beats me...it looks like outside the pond except...there are no trees blocking the sunlight! It's an open field as far as the eye can see!..."

"This reminds of that other time we got transported somewhere…"

"Yeah but that was thanks to the necklace you fished up...this was thanks to the water itself…wait...where are the others?!"

"They were with us when we fell into the water...but...I dunno...they must've ended up somewhere else…Come on lets wake him up so we can go find them!"

"Let's!"

"But first!" He takes his hat from PJ's shirt pocket "It's a bit soggy, but it pulled through!" He places it on his head.

* * *

"Ugh...my head...where am I?..." Matt rubs his head as his eyes stay closed for just a bit longer.

"Thou are in our home camp!"

"Oh. Well that's nice to kno-" His eyes shoot wide open as he looks towards the source of the voice, he sees a tall red individual, closer inspection shows that he is made of stone "W-Who are you…"

"I am the the noble warrior Vermillion! I found thee unconscious out in the forest over yonder! I decided to bring thee back for a safe recovery! Pray tell, what was thine reason for being out in the middle of a battlefield?"

"I-I wasn't there by choice...wait...B-BATTLEFIELD?!..."

"Aye. The place is one of many unfortunate meeting grounds between the group I am apart of and vicious "Tempo Tantrum" over music! I have told thee my name, doth thou give me the honor of knowing yours?"

"I-I-I'm M-Matt Major...s-sir!..."

"Major? THEN YOU ARE A STRATEGIST!"

"W-What-"

"BLESSED DAYS! SIR PALLET WAS IN DESPERATE NEED OF ONE!"

"W-W-Wait you have the wrong- H-HEY! P-PUT ME DOWN!...H-HELP!... "

* * *

("Damn Paula getting in my way...messing me up...overly competitive smug little...WE'RE ONLY IN THIS MESS CUZ OF HER!...") Her Dynamite fuse spews fire like a geyser ("I SWEAR I JUST WANNA GRAB HER NECK AND!...") Ma-san is distracted by a voice calling out in her language.

("Who's there?")

("WHO WANTS TO KNOW!")

("Aye just me lass, calm yer sparks!")

("Don't tell me what to do!") She looks for the origin of the voice and sees a portly being. His body is coated in hardened magma as he wears a black set of armor in the shape of overalls. He holds an axe in one hand made of hardened magma as well. In his other hand he holds a few tree logs signifying he was a lumberjack. He's wearing a helmet that hides most of his head except for two yellow dots which she can assume are his eyes. She calms down her fire, still ignited just not as hectic, before speaking up ("Well you're quite the character!")

("I can say the same about ye lass! Tell me, what's a fellow Tempo Tantrum member doin out here by her lonesome? Needing to burn off some steam? If that's yer case then try not to burn the trees to! I'd be out of a livelihood if ya did!")

("How do you manage to chop trees down without melting them or setting them on fire?")

("THAT'S what got yer attention lass?") he shakes his head ("Oh dear...you're not from here are ya?")

("Of course not! I was with some people...got into a fight with an idiot...and next thing I know is that I'm all alone here!...")

("Well you can come back to the group village if you be needing a place outside of isolation! You speak our language so you'd be quickly allowed in lass!")

("Whatever...beats just walking around here…")

* * *

"Do you even know where you're taking us Paula?"

"Would you rather just sit out in the open? After hearing all that mess going on not that far from us?"

"Well no...but going blindly into what could potentially be a worse outcome isn't exactly better...plus I just want to find some place to set her down…" Sweety turns her head to look at Lammy, who's unconscious as she carries her about on her back.

"It'll be fine!" _I hope…_

Just then, a man made of magma, holding a hatchet made from a gong paddle and a shield made from the gong, jumps out in front of them ("WHO ARE YOU TRESPASSERS!")

"T-Trespassers? N-No we're just w-walking by!..."

("YOU LIE! YOU HEAD DIRECTLY FOR OUR CAMP!") he lifts his hatchet, but before he brings it back down, Katy and Parappa run in front of him.

("They're telling the truth!")

("None of them know the way around here. They mean no harm to you!")

The creature simply stops his attack upon hearing the two speak. He looks back and forth between them then the trio behind them and simply grunts before turning around and walking away ("It better not happen again…")

The duo sigh as he leaves "Man that was to close…"

"You're telling me...glad this one stopped as well the second he heard us speaking that way to…"

"Thanks SOOOO much you tw-" Katy cuts off Paula by slapping her across the face, shutting her up.

"YOU just HAD to fight when we were trying to get out didn't you?!"

"..." She just looks down, not immediately replying back as she holds her cheek "You're...right...that was incredibly childish of me...course she didn't help the situation...but I admit to being in the wrong…I'm sorry…"

"Right…" she turns to Parappa "I'm still steamed at her and Ma-san, so you talk to her till I calm down, I gotta go get PJ to catch up with us anyway…"

"Roger." He turns to them "I'd mad to if I wasn't so glad to see you guys ok!"

"Well...mostly ok…" Paula points to the passed out Lammy on Sweety's back.

"Lammy!..." He runs to Sweety "Oh man…"

"She's fine! She just will be out for a while…"

"Well that's something good at least…Are you two hurt?"

"No, i'm just dizzy is all…"

"You Paula?"

"Nah...I'm fine to I guess...I hit my head hard but I guess I do deserve it for being one of the reasons we're even in this mess…"

"Come on now don't think like that...Katy's just...really angry right now...she doesn't fully blame you...if it's anyone's fault it's mine alone for triggering whatever it was that took us in the first place!"

"I guess…"

"You know it's the truth! Now show me where you got hit…"

She turns her head slightly and lifts her hair to show him a spot around the side of her forehead where she took the hit "Here…"

"Oof...Well good news is that it's not severe...bad news is that it's still a rather bad cut...man looks like it hurts...especially if you were to touch it...but you still need it bandaged up…" He reaches in his pocket and pulls out some gauze bandages "Man I'm so glad they gave me spares in case I needed to replace the ones on my hands!" He wraps it around the top of her head, it stings painfully as he mentioned, but the bandages are already soaked thanks to the water and that alone slightly eases up the pain "There! I even put it under your hair so it doesn't look like something you wouldn't like being pointed out!"

"T-Thanks!..."

"No problem! Glad I was at the very least prepared for that!"

Paula smiles in gratitude for Parappa's help, the smile vanishes however once she hears someone speak up.

"We're back…" Katy returns to the spot with PJ behind her.

"Can't believe you just ditched me back there…"

"Heard something was up...had to check it out…"

"What if someone assaulted me?!"

"You'd be fine...look at you!"

"Ugh…" PJ simply shakes his head "Well whatever, I"m glad we at least found you girls! Sweety you doing fine?"

"I'm ok! Just dizzy, if you wanna worry about anyone, you should probably worry over Lammy." She turns around to expose Lammy.

"Oh boy…"

"L-LAMMY!" Katy runs up to check on her friend.

"She's fine! Just pretty much asleep till who knows when…"

"Oh…"

Paula looks down due to feeling responsible, Parappa walks up to Katy after he sees this. "Hey Katy...I think...you might've unfairly judged Paula...because recall...it's mainly my fault...you told me not to go out into the water and just leave the rocks alone...and well I didn't...exactly listen did I...and now...well...here we are…"

Katy knows what he's obviously trying to do, she sighs and just accepts it as to not cause more trouble "Alright...I'm sorry Paula…" She walks up to Parappa and taps him on the forehead with her knuckle "You are partially correct, but hey it's always like you to defend your friends even from one another...come on let's get out of here…"

* * *

"Man this forest and field just keeps on going...I hope we bump into Matt or Ma-san soon…but then what?..." Katy just sighs after realizing there's not much else to do to get back.

The five of them suddenly hear a shout from the distance.

"H-HELPPPP!"

"That's Matt!"

"It came from that direction! Come on let's go!"

They rush over to help their friend, only to immediately find themselves within a settlement out in the open.

"Uh oh...I think we're probably in the middle of something rather big…" before any of them can continue running, they see Matt running towards them.

"GUYS OVER HERE!..." behind him are more multicolor terracotta men trying to catch up to him. The sight causes the others to flee screaming "W-W-W-WAIT DON'T LEAVE ME!"

"WELL DON'T LEAD THEM IN A STAMPEDE TOWARDS US!"

"THAT'S AGAINST MY CONTROL!"

The seven of them keep running until they're blockaded off and surrounded.

"Well this does not bode well."

"Gee what tipped you off PJ?"

The leader of the group simply walks up calmly to them. He is the tallest of all the rock made soldier, and is even made of diamond rather than other types of stone and gems. The entirety of his body, or armor if they are separate, is white "Please...we just wanted assistance…"

"I-I'm not your guy!...I'm not the strategist you're looking for!..."

"Matt a strategist?...sheesh you guys are honestly dodged a really bad bullet…" Katy says as she facepalms from the disbelief of what the current situation was actually about.

"Hey! I'm not THAT inept!..."

"But you admit you are in general."

"Way to have my back PJ…"

"Look sir, Matt here is kinda the last person you would want to help plan things out...unless the plan is get the opposite of the intended outcome, I wouldn't recommend getting his help."

"Then we are doomed…"

"Doomed? What's going on?" Parappa says as he walks up to the stone soldiers.

"Small canine one, I Sir Pallet will inform you of our troubles. We are in constant daily struggles with the group 'Tempo Tantrum' and it is one we are swiftly failing. It is a battle over ourselves for the peaceful people we are as well as for our music...saying that we do not deserve it if we simply stay as passive as possible...while they reign supreme with their music as destructive as their personalities... Naturally we as a group try to avoid struggles whenever possible, but it's not quite as simple when the people we are being forced to fight are war hungry heathens…our group...Mood Stones is simply not up to the bravado of willingness to just fight for the hell of it...it's not in our nature..."

"Geez that sounds awful...almost as much as the music war that happened years ago…" Parappa takes off his hat and glances along it's new symbols, when Pallet notices, he quickly kneels with the other knights doing the same.

"W-Whoa what I do?"

"You honor those who have fallen, while we just ran away…"

"I feel like we're missing some context here." PJ says as Paula, Matt and Sweety nod.

"Uh...long story...and Pallet, what do you mean by that?..."

"We were involved in that war of which you speak."

"WHAT?! But i thought those who survived just separated themselves entirely!"

"We have, but there were many groups, they all ran off and most certainly became more groups of their own to try and keep some memories of older times, but ultimately start a new. For us?...we ran like cowards...we found a pond made by Madame Lupe and we turned it into a gateway towards a simulated area. Peaceful, quiet and away from all the danger...no one would ever find us. However to our misfortune...The Tempo's had the exact same idea...once we met face to face a few days later...it's been battle after battle ever since...oh it's been about a year now...but you say it's been years out there have you not?..."

"Yes! Like decades even!...A-Are you telling us time goes by differently in here?"

"Well it would appear so, since this place doesn't exist per say. It was created by Madame Lupe and was given access to those she permitted...we thought it was only us...but that was a sorrowful fact found to be proven wrong…" He gets back up and lifts his helmet's visor revealing nothing but darkness and two beady rainbow dots "When we tried to leave...it was shown we couldn't…"

"Why not?..."

"Apparently for us to leave...we either need to come to terms with the Tempo's...or one group has to fall...as you see...the exit must be permitted when ALL quarries choose to leave. Not just one. So we either have to both agree to exit...or eliminate the other so that only we are the ones to decide...but we do not want that outcome…"

"Oh...this is real bad…" Parappa begins pacing forth "So we can't leave either…" he runs back to his group of friends "What do we do?!"

"What CAN we do!...we're not capable of fighting in a war!..."

"Katy's right, this is to much for the likes of us to handle."

"I guess it's safe to call this our new home…"

"Matt shut up! We WILL get out of here!"

"I'm waiting for you to prove me wrong Paula…"

"I'm afraid I'm with the rest of them Paula...we can't do much if anything at all…" Sweety walks up to Pallet "Excuse me sir, do you have a bed that I may put her on to recover?..."

"Why yes! Please follow Cobalt!" He motions his arms to a fellow knight cloaked entirely in blue.

"Follow me dear Miss to our medical facilities." He walks off with Sweety, PJ, Matt and Katy following..

"I'm not gonna sit back and just let the events unfold poorly...I'm helping!" Parappa runs back to Pallet with Paula following.

"I'm helping to! I still feel responsible for this mess…"

"You shouldn't, but I still appreciate the help!" They both look at Pallet "Sir Pallet! Is there anything we can do to provide assistance?"

"Well...we need people to scout about, but the Tempo's know what we look like so that'd be impossible...once we hear their voices we know it's already to late and that a battle will begin…"

("They won't get suspicious with me!") Parappa catches Pallet off guard as all the other knights gasp and stand in front of Pallet, weapons armed "W-Whoa w-w-w-wait!..."

"STAND DOWN." The knights disperse "You can speak like them?..."

"Y-Yeah thanks to a friend of mine...it's her native tongue so I had to learn it!"

"This...could very much help...but still one wrong thing and we won't be able to help you out…"

("Then I'll be there to help them out!") Katy runs up to Parappa and Paula while shouting in the same language as well.

"Hm...very well...but we will need to rethink our plans...the routing was thought up with us in mind...we are made of stone and therefore can take a thrashing...you lot...are not as lucky...we will have to adjust to take your characteristics into account. Please make yourselves feel at home in the meanwhile. MEN REGROUP AT THE PLANNING GROUNDS!"

"SIR!" They all run off.

"If you can truly help us end this, we are forever in your debt."

"We'll do our best! And seeing as we can talk like Tempo...maybe we can even form peace between the two of you!"

"That would be most excellent. I will return once we have our plan! Please inform Cobalt once he is finished helping your friends!" Pallet runs off as well.

"Will do! Alright guys, we'll have to do our best because….we are...in WAAAAAY over our heads to be perfectly honest...but I know one thing. We gotta believe! You two with me?"

"Of course! Can't cut corners here!"

"You can count on initial P!"

"Great! Then let's let our belief see us through!"

 _I really hope we end up ok…_


	11. Flint and Fire

("So who the heck are the Tempo Tantrums and why the hell did you think I was one of them?")

("Ah...we'll we're rather destructively emotional,...and only speak this tongue. Plus the flame motif. Ye fit the bill quite nicely lass.")

("Well they did seem rather bipolar the lot of them...so it kinda bugs me that I'm so quickly lumped together with them...but they were decent, certainly my kind of people to hang with if they weren't soooo…")

("Annoyin?")

("Bingo") Ma-san rests her arms on her hips tapping her foot on the ground.

("Aye, that they are, but it's really the fault of-")

("Deto! There you are.")

("Oh just my luck…") A lava themed fox man in red and white armor walks up to Ma-san and the newly named Lumberjack

("Still trying to settle down while knowing we still have a battle to win.")

("Do we even need ta fend em off? The hard headed lads don't deserve this. They pose no real issue to us…")

("There you are again thinking 'Oh but why should we fight them, they're just minding their own business!' Deto, you know who we are, you know what we are! We have to snuff them out before they get any ideas to the same to us. Must you always think as passively as them?")

("These hard headed lads don't fight back unless provoked Ur...they'd never try to blindside us at all...truth be told they don't even seem competent enough to attempt it if they ever got the moxie…")

("You certainly are persistent…")

("Hey buddy, mind getting out of the way? We're kinda walkin here!") Ma-san says as she huffs from impatience.

("Eh? Hello. You're a new face…")

("Yeah I'm kinda finding my way around here, so if you don't mind. I'd like to keep moving!")

("But you already found your way! We're your destination right here!")

("Ur leave the lass out of this…")

("Why? You're doing nothing. Look here, what is it you're trying to do, I can guarantee I can help you Miss…")

("Ma-san, and why should I listen to you?")

("Ma...san? Huh...and why should you listen? Well do you really have any other helpful lead? What's old Deto here doing for ya.")

("More than you are you charcoal breathed freak that's for sure.")

("Oof. She certainly acts like a person who's been one of us for years...but is it that you're looking for people?")

("Lucky guess…")

("Well I just so happen to know where they are! And can easily help you reunite!")

("I'm reluctant to agree…")

("You'd be wise to lass! Ur has a bit of a bad lying streak!")

("Oh so your quarry doesn't consist of a dog in orange headwear, a blue cat, a pink and brown bear duo, an orange lamb or an orange fox?")

("...") Ma-san taps her chin as she thinks her answer over.

("Lass….")

("Alright. You've caught my interest.")

("Blasted all…")

("Excellent! All you have to do is follow me!") Ma-san obliges instantly leaving Deto alone.

("Ohhh...this does not bode well in the slightest…")

* * *

"Man...I hope Ma-sans alright at the very least…" Parappa says as he sits down on the ground, but before he can get more upset, someone changes the subject.

"Alright might as well look around here since we will be waiting for a while...not really much to see, just huts and torches everywhere, but I guess it was rather obvious for rock people…" Paula says as she rubs her injury.

"But it's still a nice quiet and calm place to just enjoy life in and of itself! These guys really live off of the meaning tranquility." Parappa says as he just takes in the grassy view.

"And hey look! They even haven a makeshift stage!"

"Well it would make sense seeing as they are a music group...but where are their instruments?..."

"Probably turned into weapons...you recall that guy that jumped Paula and Sweety? His gong and paddle were turned into his hatchet and shield!" Katy says kicking the dirt over the thought of it all.

"Man what a waste...the thought really stiffens me up...and I hate being stiff…" Parappa punches the ground then sighs "Look, we could potentially be the driving factor to stop all this for good! These two groups don't have to end up like these guys on my hat! I just hope we're up to it is all…"

"Well...at the very least, you and PJ are thanks to General Potter. So if PJ decides to help we have some reassurance…"

"I guess...I mean it's not like I don't already do my best to guard all of you!"

"You make it sound like all we do is just rely on you…"

"Ah...don't we though?...When it comes to action...the only two people who actually do something are him and Lammy...Sorry to say Katy but...we're basically just cheerleaders whenever stuff happens compared to those two…"

"Oh come on that's not true! You guys all do as much work as me and Lammy!..."

"No...Paula's right…" She looks down, but immediately looks back up with fire in her eyes "But it's not gonna stay that way!"

"It never was that way to begin with! But hey, at least you're motivated to not let it ever get to that point at all now!" He turns around "Now let's see what we have to see around here!" As he runs off he bumps into Cobalt "Whoops! Sorry sir!"

"Tis quite alright! Pray tell where did everyone go?"

"They're all heading to the planning grounds!"

"Oh why thank ye! Your allies have settled in that hut over yonder if you be needing to regroup yourselves! Now I must take my leave!" He runs off.

"Such a formal way of speaking…"

"Well recall these guys are kinda modeled to be knights! So it makes sense with the old timey speak."

"Yeah but Pallet doesn't speak that way."

"Beats me! Speaking of which, what do you think MADE these guys?!...People made of stone don't just pop up like a new species on their own otherwise we'd see them everywhere! And we don't! So clearly someone made these guys."

"Well they did bring up your grandmother in a formal matter so probably her and the rest?"

"Probably, but then they'd ALL be blue."

"Good point…" he scratches his head "Maybe they have something that can help us figure that out!" He runs off behind a few sheds, only to notice the two girls had not followed him, but upon him returning back, the duo notice that people had followed him, the line consisted of children made of rock "Hey what are you two doing just standing around? Come on!"

"Uh...Parappa…"

"What?"

"Turn around."

Parappa turns around, as he does, so does the line of kids following him, causing him to not see them "Ok so why did you want me to turn around?"

"No!...Didn't you see them?"

"See who?"

"Turn around again!" he does as instructed by Katy, but to the same result.

"Are you messing with me?..."

Katy stomps up to Parappa, picks him up and turns him around allowing him to see his tag alongs "See them now?"

"Oh...hi!" The children immediately disperse upon being seen by Parappa "Well...that was rude…"

"That's all you have to say about that?" She shakes him in place.

"Well they're kids! I'm sure they don't mean any harm."

"Katy has a right to worry though. We can't exactly be letting our guard down around here...You saw how they almost tried to execute you on the spot for speaking that language!"

"Well...you have a point there, but still it's too much to expect that the KIDS want to harm us…"

"They're still stone kids, so for all we know they could crush us like grapes!..." Paula says as she tries squeezing her head, only to flinch from the wound.

"You guys are being to paranoid!" He wriggles out of Katy's grip and runs up to where the kids are hiding behind "Hey there! You little guys don't mean any harm do you?" He extends his paw, which simply causes them to cower in fear of being attacked "Oh...they seem more scared of us then you do of them…"

Katy and Paula carefully walk up to the kids "Why would they be scared of us?...compared to them we're like twigs…" Paula says as she nears them with Katy a tad behind. Upon spotting Katy walking towards them, the children begin panicking.

"L-L-Lady Lupe please d-don't harm us…"

"W-We didn't mean to fight in your s-special home…"

"W-What?...I-I'm not my grandmother!...And she wouldn't hurt you over something out of your control!..."

"H-Her face usually says otherwise!..."

"A-Ah...well...you're not wrong…" she rubs the back of her head with guilt.

"I'm tired of being out of context…" Paula shakes her head and shrugs.

"I'll explain everything then!...Oh man it's gonna be a long story…"

* * *

"There...i've explained it for the third time...please tell me all of you understand now…"

"Well I do at least, don't know about the kids. It's amazing to think of what happened years and years ago...and that you lot are descendants of it!"

"Descendants?...but it's only been a year!" Once one of the kids says that, the trio tense up knowing they'll want an explanation, but immediately after both Katy and Paula shout in unison "NOT IT…" Parappa groans as he then proceeds to explain even more.

* * *

"I didn't know time went by faster out there…"

"Yeah...heh...it's as big of news to us than it is your...but we've only been here a couple of hours...you guys have just been here a year and it's already been many out there…but that's what we're gonna fix! Me and my two friends here are gonna go find a way to get you all outside again!" the group of children's eyes sparkle as they hear Parappa say this.

"Really?!" They beam in unison.

"Of course! It'll be easy!" Parappa is immediately yanked back by the duo as they begin whispering.

"Do not promise what you don't fully know!..."

"Yeah! We aren't exactly sure we can even handle this!..." Both begin waving their arms frantically in the air.

"Well I do know I'm gonna do my best to make sure I keep my word!" He heads back to the kids "It may not be entirely easy, but I do guarantee I'll get all of you out!" He gives them all a trademark smile and thumbs up which cause the kids to bounce out of their hiding spots and mimic him. Well the thumbs up at least as they couldn't mimic his smile as they had no visible mouths through their helmets "That's it! Keep that motivation high and everything will be alright! You just gotta believe and it will always help you pull through!" He crosses his arms and then solemnly nods "That's the Parappa way." _Where'd all my doubt go? It's as if trying to motivate these kids up got my own fire burning again!_ the children waste no time mimicking him again.

"Paula do you think we should intervene?..."

"And appear as the bad guys to them? No thanks…"

* * *

("Lass there ya are! Quick! I gotta get ya out of here!")

("What for? I'm doing fine here and all I need to do is beat up some guys that are holding my buds captive.")

("Whether or not the others are holding your buds captive, I would be so raring for a fight...they may enforce the way of peaceful living but that doesn't mean they're completely helpless! They can pack a wallop to a girl of your size and statu-") Ma-san knocks him over with a mace, thanks to his body however, he's in no real pain ("GOHOOF...oh that smarts…")

("Had you finished that sentence it would've hurt a lot worse…")

("I believe ya...Ugh...stuck on my back like a wee turtle I am…")

("Yeah I've noticed you all suck at getting back up when you get tipped over. Super easy to do that thanks to these two maces.)

("We're made of fresh harden earth and are excruciatingly top heavy! Of course we topple like buffoons!...That's not our faults! And where did you get those bloody things anyway?!")

("Ur gave em to me. And man are they really nice, lightweight but strong handles with a nice bludgeoning object by the tip. It's like using drumsticks, but a heck of a lot more fun!")

("Oh please just help me up…")

("Yeah no, I feel if I were to touch you I'd probably lose my entire arm to disintegration.")

("Fair enough…") Deco struggles on the ground for a bit longer before beginning to whistle, and just like that a flurry of lava children rush up.

("Uncle Deco!")

("What happened!")

("Are you ok?")

("Oh I'm fine...I just fell over is all...please help me up…") the children immediately do as told ("Much better...Now you lass, please just follow me…")

("Fine…")

The trip wasn't that far as they were already rather close to the target destination. They arrive to a home akin to a log cabin. The children scatter and begin playing around.

("Huh, I thought it wouldn't be a stereotypical lumberjack home seeing as you are made of lava, but nope. You fit the stereotypical bill pretty on the nose.)

("Just because I'm a hulking mess of old crusty hardened magma, doesn't mean I'm not just a regular person like everyone else!")

("Could've fooled me! Now why are we here exactly? And who are the brats?")

("Oh they're just orphaned children who I've decided to take into my custody as to avoid Ur's massive bloodfrenzy…")

("Blood what now.")

("Ur has polluted the thoughts of the rest of the people to think that this is all we're capable of and worth doing...and they all believe him...it's why you find them all so…")

("Annoying?")

("Aye.")

("Heh...well i honestly don't really mind all that as long as I just get to regroup and just get out of here…")

("i was afraid ye would say that…You see...you're pretty much trapped here like us…")

("Explain. Now.")

("Cool it lassie! Look, the area we're in is rather...special. It will only let us out once EVERYONE in it decided to leave...You either unite together to choose to get out, or eliminate the opposition and be the only ones able to vote...Ur doesn't want to leave until he asserts supremacy...")

("Ok then, I'll just help him crack some skulls then. No biggie, the faster that happens the faster I leave…")

("Why with the- Holy mother of cinders...are you sure you aren't one of them?...The lads he's trying to do away with are against fighting! It's like punching a man in the face who has no limbs of which to defend said face!")

("Alright fine! I won't do it if it riles you up that badly…Why does it anyway?")

("Because I refuse to have that idiot make a mockery of who we are!...he took advantage of that war! They're probably still fightin out there and we're just here forced to listen to him! We were as much a peaceful music loving group as those rock boys!")

("War?...it wouldn't happen to be one against a group called Royal something or the Ravens?")

("Why yes, how'd ya know lass? Is it still ongoin?")

("Uh….no...it's been over and done with for at least two or three decades now.")

("WHAT?! BUT IT'S ONLY BEEN A YEAR HERE!...")

("Huh...guess things go by slowly in here...that sure seems dull.")

("HOW ARE YOU NOT FAZED BY THIS?!")

("Probably cuz I haven't lived here, sheltered away as the big stuff happened on the world outside.")

("BU-...ok that would be a fair assessment on the matter...especially seeing as you're not native...how did you end up here?") the two don't seem to notice that the kids huddled around them.

("Well we were cleaning up a pond two friends found and there was one thing one of said friends just couldn't leave alone. He wanted the place to be spotless...and once he started moving it...the water started sucking him in! And when we all tried to help...Me and another got into another yell fest and then long story short…")

("You got dragged into here...strange...only those with the queen of emotion's word can enter here...is she still kicking?")

("Kicking the bucket six feet under.")

("Oh that's depressin...then how'd you get in?")

("Dunno, she probably allowed the dumb mutt of a friend I have once he put their group symbol on his hat. Or because we have her granddaughter who is the other friend.")

("What the bloody 'ell have I missed?!")

("Loads of heavy stuff. In all honesty, hiding in here was probably the smartest choice. It's safe now though! But uh...everyone you used to know is kinda...dead.") Ma-san shrugs, showing the topic rarely fazed her.

("I can see why you're so nonchalant about it seeing as it was before your time...but still it's a bit much for someone who basically lived it…")

("So what's the future like miss mouse lady!") one small flame girl speaks up alerting that the two.

("Wow you came outta nowhere...and the names Ma-san! Anyway...well the future is nice and peaceful compared to what we learned about your time! No battles over music here! At least not in the ways you guys went through...are going through. And people generally get along fairly well with one another! Heck I'm even part of a band! I play a killer set of drums!") Upon uttering the phrase 'killer' the kids scream and hide behind Deto ("Wow...you guys really are old if you don't get that slang…") Ma-san rolls her eyes and walks up to the kids ("You know you little runts look like you could grow up to be the next big stars if you wanted to! Never know how these kinda things just happen…") She looks up as she reminisces about her and MilkCan's origins ("The people you meet and get to enjoy time with...the memories you create...it's all a beautiful experience…") The children simply stare at her with awe until three girls walk up, they appear to be sisters, and just begin staring at her in idolization and awe. Deto takes note and nods in happiness.

("I think I prefer you this way lass, all high off of happiness, suits you far better in my opinion!")

("Ah what do you know ya walkin brick!") She kneels down to the sisters ("You three seem to get me! Wanna hear more about the world out there or my own personal experiences in my band?")

("Your band!") They say in unison as the hop around her.

("You got it!")

* * *

The trio had regrouped in the hut where all their friends were attempting to relax, they simple try to make the most of their situation while taking watch over Lammy, while Parappa simply entertains the children who follow him like chicks to a mother hen.

"Man they mimic his every move and everything! I tell ya, only he could manage something this out of the blue!"

"Matt you say that as if you weren't the same when we first became friends years ago."

"Yeah well...that's different!"

"You're not exactly convincing me." PJ stares at him to see if he'd either explain or give in.

"Well I mean we hit it off rather easily and friendly over the fact that we had a thing in common that soon expanded to be many things. It was inspiring to hear from a guy who originally had it better than I! So I tagged along to see what I could learn for my-..." realization hits Matt like a truck.

"Mmmmhmmmmmmm?"

"...I wish THAT was something I could've picked up from you…" Matt simply reclines on a wall with his arms crossed, defeated.

PJ simply laughs as Katy and Paula look on from afar and talk amongst themselves.

"To think that's how they got to know each other, but with us, it was probably the most petty rivalry I could've been in." Paula says as she sheepishly scratches the side of her head.

"I mean rivalry is like the blood that runs in your veins, you never really lost it. But that's what makes you a fun friend...only wish it didn't trigger at crucial moments like today…"

"Yeah...about that...I'm...still unbelievably sorry over it…"

"Relax...I finally got it on my mind to blame Parappa instead of you two."

"Iffff….it makes you feel better I nearly cracked my skull during my arrival to this place…"

"Like that would make me feel any better! You're still my best friend! I mean yeah I was angry, but I'd feel awful if anything were to happen to you…"

"Heh...thanks for still caring."

"Of course!" They hug it out, ending the tension.

"I've got to apologize to Ma-san once we find her...hey by the by, how was your arrival here?"

"Oh you know, nearly suffocated to a point that I needed CPR to expel the water from my lungs, not much different from your arrival."

"Yeesh...you ok now?"

"Yeah thanks to Parappa, really wish the help wasn't needed...I feel like a burden to him at times."

"Katy you're anything BUT a burden, honestly back then Parappa, PJ and Matt were probably the biggest nuisances we could've handled! But they did come through in the end."

"That's for sure! I still can't believe I got the three of them to model the wedding dresses I made."

"Pfft...I still have a photo of that saved on my phone. Never getting rid of that!" They both share a hysteric laugh before looking towards Parappa as the kids simply mimic the kick punch style that he's showing off with.

"You little guys are pretty good! But this is still pretty simple! After all, ya just gotta kick and punch because it's all in the mind! If ya wanna test me, i'm sure y'all find, that the things I teach ya will be sure to beat ya, nevah da less you'll get a lesson from Parappa da teacha! Now Kick!"

"Kick!"

"Punch!"

"Punch!"

"Chop!"

"Chop!"

"And Block!"

"Block!" the little group laugh among themselves as they play along. Genuinely enjoying themselves.

Katy can't help but smile at the sight of it all "It's heartwarming to see he's enjoying himself again."

"I see what you mean. Such a sights been rare for a long while and it's always nice to see while we can." As they say this Sir Pallet walks into the shed, the children scatter when they see him.

"Oh hey Pallet! Do you have a working plan for us?"

"Why yes indeed dear allies! But we can't send you just yet!" He walks up to Parappa and motions Katy and Paula to join up. Once they do he begins measuring them."

"Uhh...sir?"

"What are you doing?..."

"This is really busting my comfort zone…"

"There we are! These measurements will do!"

"Do for what?"

"Your armor!"

"A-ARMOR?!" the three shout.

"Yes. To put it simply, we are preparing for every possible situation. A majority involve that outcome that you'll be forced into an unwanted meeting...so we are striving to prevent that! The armor will be as protective as our very bodies! That should keep the three of you safe to make your recon route and return unscathed!"

"Well when you put it that way i'm all for it! But uh...can I...help work on mine?" Katy says as she taps her index fingers together meekly.

"Yeah i'd...like to uh...s-stylize mine to if that's ok…" Paula tries to avoid making eye contact from embarrassment over wanting to decorate their armor.

"Trying to look nice even while on the battlefield. Not a conventional action, but not a bad choice either! If this is what you wish than follow me!" As he turns around he notices the children regroup around Parappa "Ah there you children are! Come along now we need to get you back to safety! Especially now that we escalate our plans for leaving!" The children simply latch onto Parappa, not wanting to budge "Well new friend! They seemed to have imprinted on you quite quickly it seems!"

"Yeah...I think that's because they're just happy that they'll finally be able to get out!"

"And that's all perfectly fine! But it is for the best that they do get to a safe place as everything goes down."

"Roger! Come on guys you gotta follow Sir Pallet now." The kids look down for abit before they nod and huddle around Pallet, all except for two. Two of the youngest children simply stay by Parappa, not wanting to go "Ah...hey, you two gotta go to!" They reply only by shaking their heads rapidly.

"Come along now you two!" They shake their heads harder "Oh dear...well I can't really do anything about that...friend can I trust that you keep these two safe under your watch?"

"You can count on me!"

"Good! Ok you two, I'm afraid you'll have to explain your armor choices to the others as i'll have to return to handle this once I take you there."

"That's fine Sir! We still get to decorate our gear in the end!"

"Yep!"

"Ok then! Onwards!" The group leave the shed while Parappa simply kneels to the two kids.

"Now why didn't you two wanna go?" They don't reply "Oh boy…" He just walks up to Matt and PJ with them following "Hey you two think you can help me?"

"Can't help with that! They're glued to you like a leech!"

"Matt's right, this is on you man." Their reply only earns them an aggravated sigh from Parappa.

"Fine! I'll manage this on my own!" As Parappa says this, Sweety pokes her head from the other room to alert them that Lammy was beginning to regain consciousness, to which Parappa immediately fades into the other room before the others can "Lammy! Oh man am I glad you're awake!"

"Augh...where am I?..."

"Currently? In a hut over at a place we're temporarily staying in."

"Hut?..."

"You heard him correctly, we're in a hut out in the middle of a decently big forest by a large field." PJ says as he walks in.

"W-Where are we?"

"Currently? Some weird little world inside the pond we got sucked into."

"And we can't exactly leave till we help the locals that live here, who are also generously letting us stay here as well as providing the means of helping you out while you were out of it!" Matt adds on as he joins the room, followed by the two little kids who latch back on to Parappa.

"Gotta thank Sweety for the help. She not only helped with the nursing, but also helped you get here."

"Oh I just did what I could to help!...Found you unconscious...so...I carried ya all….the way….h-here…" Sweety begins toppling over until PJ and Matt manage to catch her in her unconscious state.

"S-Sweety?!..."

"I thought she said she was only dizzy!..."

PJ places his hand over her head "Well this ain't good...she has quite the fever...guess she kinda undermined what her condition actually was and held it together until she was sure everything was fine...damn it...Matt help me lay her down on one of the beds…"

"You got it!..."

"And she held it together until I was fine…oh man I really am a burden..."

"Don't. Start, Lammy helping you was her top priority so the least you can do is not panic over her bluff on her own health. Instead you can help me nurse her back to health as she did for you."

"G-Got it!." Lammy hops off the bed she's on and wobbles over to PJ.

"Eh...on second thought you just woke up...I don't think you're still fully ok to-"

"I'm gonna h-help!...if she helped me out the least I can do is help back!..."

"Fine then, but don't overdo and go rest if you need to, don't need to keep this chain going."

"You can count on m-me!"

Parappa and Matt speak amongst themselves as they see this go down "Man we REALLY gotta get out of here now…"

"No kidding Matt...I might have to skip on their armor for me and just chance it…"

"NO! You are the LAST person that needs to be chancing it right about now!..."

"But you clearly see how fast this situation is clearly devolving into!"

"Yes, and it'll only get worse if you throw caution to the wind!"

"Then what do you suggest?" Matt simply looks at him with his arms crossed.

"I'll tell you what I suggest."

* * *

"I'll be joining you three out there!"

"M-Matt are you sure?"

"Hell yeah I am! Not gonna let myself sit idly by again! Lammy woke only for Sweety to go down! We clearly need to do something to get out as fast as we can manage! We still need to find Ma-san and convince the Tempo's to agree to comraderie! And I already told Pallet to get me an armor set to, so I'm already not stopping."

"Ugh...well another person will make this go a lot smoother…" Paula rubs her head "Well what did Parappa say?"

"Well he got a tad upset, but ultimately he was in no position to argue, especially since Pallet arrived to try and pry the other two kids off of him."

"Oh boy…I can only imagine how well that's going..." Katy rolls her eyes at the thought, already knowing the answer.

She was correct, Pallet tried everything, but the duo would not leave Parappa's side.

"I really can't seem to get them away from you…they really are to attached to you." Pallet says as he tries once more to grab them, only for them to hide behind Parappa.

"It's fine. I don't mind it, I just worry for their well being...who are they anyway? They refuse to speak to me. Only mimic me."

"Ah well these two, like the other children you saw, are all orphans who were left behind by more passive members of our safe group...they weren't as hardy as we knights...and so...well my friend you can fill the blanks. These girls since became friends with one another for the same reason. They don't really get along well with the other more...expressive children."

"Yikes…"

"So their first instinct was to join us and BECOME knights."

"Yik- I'm sorry what."

"You heard me correct my friend. They weren't going to handle all this by being introverted forever! Well that was how it happened at first...once they saw what it took and what one had to deal with whenever the threats came...they felt useless...due to their statue. And I assume that you're doing so much while being an equal size to them inspires them!"

"I...don't know whether to take that as a compliment or insult…I'm...twenty...it's not my fault I didn't grow that much…"

"But it shows that height doesn't matter! And that's why they stick with you!" the two little girls nod as if to agree with Pallet.

"I guess you're telling the truth there...and hey I did do a lot that can be thought as super amazing!"

"And you can tell these two about them! I really have to finish the armor for you! These two seem like they want to follow you in your mission and I really can't stop it...so what do you say?"

Parappa thinks it over until he comes with a conclusion "Only if you two tell me your names. I guarantee I keep my friends safe! But we can't be friends if I don't know who you two are!" One of the girls looks at her feet before looking back to him.

"I'm Dacite!" where she answered so quickly, the other still didn't speak up.

"Uh…" Parappa stares at the other girl

"Oh...she doesn't talk!"

"O-Oh...i'm sorry…" She simply shakes her head as if to say the apology wasn't warranted, she then grabs his hand and begins spelling her name on his hand by tracing her fingers 'M-I-C-A...Mica?" she nods "Ok! You can tag along, and I promise I'll keep you two safe!"

"Great! Well now i'm off! These two already have their own armor, but you four still need your own to be finished! I promise to not take long friend."

"Would you two try speaking with me now? We might as well get to be better friends while we wait!" They look at each other and thing for a bit, then they look back and nod "Great! The best part of making friends is to learn more about them!"

* * *

("Heh...I don't think I've had people have such interest in me! You three are real good kids! What are your names?")

("I'm Enya! The youngest sister!")

("I'm Arati the middle child!")

("I'm Vesta the oldest!")

("Fire based names, of course. But nice names nonetheless!") Ma-san shakes her head with a chuckle. _The other kids just left once Deto told them to hide in the shed, but these three just stayed to hear more about me. Gah kids are weird…_ ("You kids sure you don't wanna hide with the rest?")

("No! I feel safest next to you Miss Ma-san! Uncle Deto is a bit to flabby to be defending anyone…")

("Pfffft...I didn't know _that_ qualified as portly for lava rock dude!")

("IT'S NOT FAT, IT'S MUSCLE!") Deto says as he hobbles over.

("Sorry big guy, but if the kids you're fostering say you're chunky, then it's safe to say you're livin large!") Ma-san laughs in his face.

("Ugh...Look Arati, Enya, Vesta! Rush your tuchuses over to the hidin hole now! Any minute Ur will be stompin about looking for ya…") Their reply is simply huddling behind Ma-san.

("I think they gave you there answer.")

("Ohohoho this is so not kosher…") He rubs what would be the equivalent of his temples ("Look, they're not gonna budge and I know this, I have the other lot to keep a watch over. Can I count on you to at least keep and eye on them?")

Ma-san looks at the three girls hiding behind her then back to him ("Sure, if you don't want Ur to spot em then you got it. I take it you don't want them to end up like the rest.")

("Correct! Now I gotta go! Keep yer word!") He hobbles off.

("Man what a guy…") she turns to the trio ("Ok so i'm now a babysitter...well at the very least I like you guys! Much more tolerable. And hey, Ur might not even pop u-")

("Ma-san wasn't it? Are you around here? Answer me this instant!")

("Of course...quick! Scatter over there!...") the trio waste no time heeding her orders as Ur storms forth in front of her.

("There you are! What are you doing out in a isolated part of the area when you could be back there conversing with the lot of us!")

("There's only so much I can stomach and that was way beyond the limit!")

("Ohoh you're such a kidder!") She simply glares at him ("Feh...look we've found confirmation that your friends are being basically held prisoner over at the Mood Stones campgrounds! One even keeled over as soon as a red headed one woke up!")

("Oye vey they sound like they're in such a mess…how the heck do you know this?")

("With the help of these trickster fellows!") He holds out his hand, to which small flame sprites pop out snickering ("They hide as their torches! Perfect surveillance.")

("What an underhanded tactic...but at least it helps me I guess…")

("I'd launch for an all out raid to help you there, but currently. The rest of the heathens refuse to act unless they act. Seems Deto's been polluting their mind with thoughts of peace and harmony and whatever blazes he deems worthy to talk about. We're built for fighting! Can't do anything about that! But I can't do anything about this until they purposefully DO something, so for now we're at the beck and call. If you spot something, please be sure to alert us.") He walks off.

("Feh...will do...man what the hell are you guys getting yourselves into…") once the trio see Ur fully gone they return back at Ma-san's side.

("Miss Ma-san are you ok?") they say in unison as they huddle around her.

("Yeah i'm good...only worried...those knuckleheads have a habit of getting into trouble…") _The mutt should keep em safe, but still… who'll keep HIM safe?..._

("I'm sure your friends are ok Miss!") Enya says as she tugs on Ma-san's hands, earning a low chuckle from her.

("You certainly remind me of someone! Sure, I guess I should have more faith in them. After all it's not like this is the **FIRST** time this happened, and it certainly ain't gonna be the last knowing our history.") She smiles towards the three before looking towards the woods where the smile quickly fades. _Who does he think he is...worrying over the world rather than his own damn self...why bother with others when you just suffer the worst by the end?...I'd never be like that...what would I get out of it?...what does he think HE gets out of it?..._ Ma-san stops and sighs as she punches herself in the chest around her heart. _Was this the Mutt's plan all along?... and was that damn Paula apart of it?...feh…_ she growls as she looks away from the woods.

("Miss Ma-san are you _**sure**_ you're ok?" You're rather...upset") Vesta says as tries to look at Ma-san directly as she keeps turning away ("Is one of them your special someone?")

(" **NO!** ") Her fuse returns to being a flame geyser like when she was stumbling around the forest a mere few hours ago, the trio flinch, but they still stay in place as the soon burst out in a giggle fit ("What's so funny?!")

("You're a bad liar Ma-san!")

* * *

"Matt you helped make THESE?!" Parappa says as he stares at the armor he's now wearing.

"I helped you and PJ engineer a rocket, armor's nothing to challenging for me." He puffs out his chest, which looked even bigger due to his own chestplate.

"Boasting aside, these not only help keep us safe, but also are rather slim and easy to maneuver in! And we managed to stylize them as we wanted! Thank you Matt!" Katy says as both her and Paula simply enjoy the armor they're adorned with.

"Weren't no thing!~"

"Alright, we have the area we need to go and our object and our defense." Parappa picks up a large shield he asked to have "Now come on you guys! Let's go!"

"So what is it we have to do? I know we're scouting but for what."

"Well it's mainly to scout what they do and if there's anything that can be used to take advantage."

"The Mood Stones already know that the guys are top heavy, but they also wanna see if there's anything else they can manage to either build a truce on...or if need be...use to get an upper hand...basically any gathered knowledge is SOMETHING. And these guys can use ANYTHING at this point." Matt shakes his head "That's why they wanted a strategist, in case recon failed...they'd have a guy who could coordinate them to snuff the Tempo's out. As the Tempo's are purely brute forcing their way, and a strategic assault would've been the end of them."

"Yeesh...talk about your last resorts…"

"Well now _we're_ the last resort Katy. Well then... Matt, Parappa you guys ready to go?" The duo nod "Katy?" She also nods "And our two tagalongs?" Dacite and Mica poke their heads from behind a barrel after being found out "Parappa already explained. And while that adds an extra layer of caution and steps we gotta take, you two are more likely to handle yourselves better than us! Regardless, we'll keep you two safe as long as you help keep us safe!" the two girls nod "Great! Then let's do this!" She sets her fist forward, to which Parappa, Matt and Katy meet immediately, the four then look at the two kids signifying they were waiting for them as well. The two gleefully join in.

"Let's go!" Parappa runs off with the five of them right behind him.

* * *

"What are we scanning around for?" Paula says as she and the others sneak through the grove.

"Pallet says they have a remote hideaway around here...course he also said it looked like a log cabin so it was probably nothing...but he doesn't wanna risk it." Matt says as he looks carefully in every direction.

"Makes sense...it's usually the things you don't expect that have the biggest surprises…" Parappa says earning an autopilot reply from his three friends together.

" **Boy** you can say _**THAT**_ again…"

"Uh...w-was it something I said?..." They ignore him and keep on moving, only for Mica to console him with a pat on the back "Thanks Mica…"

"Hey hey! I found it! Over here! Quickly and quietly!" Matt says as he waves his arm to draw the rest of them closer "It's just as he suspected! A log cabin! But I hear only kids playing?"

"Is that why it's so far from their main camp? Cuz it's basically to protect their own kids?..."

"Aw Pallet can't use that...he's doing the same thing...he'd be both a hypocrite for using this intel and hate himself for even daring to think of this as intel...actually...wait...He said the Tempo's were for war entirely...so why even bother protecting the young if they'd WANT to get into a fight to begin with if that's their way of life?..."

"Unless of course, they're not all like that and are trying to break away from them...and you know what that means!"

"Potential allies!" the four say in unison.

"Friends with the Tempo's…?" Dacite says as she tilts her head "Can that be possible?...They're all really mean and bad people…"

"But what if these kids aren't? As well as whoever is holding up these kids!" Parappa stating this simply causes Dacite to shake her head in massive confusion, unable to comprehend the otherwise.

"Exactly, for all we know these kids could be- M-Ma-san?!" Katy says as she quickly turns her head upon hearing a specific voice.

"These kids could be Ma-san?..." Matt says staring at Katy with a questioning gaze.

"No NO! Ma-sans here! Look! There with those three kids!..." She points towards their final missing friend.

"The hell? She's been HERE the entire time?"

"Well glad to see one of us had better luck…" Paula sighs as she facepalms from the disbelief.

"Well come on then? What're we standing around here for! Let's go get her!" Parappa without thinking, immediately dives outwards into the open.

"P-Parappa wait! NO!..." Dacite and Mica follow suit "N-NOT YOU TWO EITHER!...Oh this is going south fast…"

"Ma-san!"

("Huh?...Parappa?...")

"It is you!" He stops in front of her to catch his breath, while the three girls hide behind Ma-san while the two stone girls hide behind Parappa.

("Well I'll be Mutt, it IS you.") She stares at him in awe ("The heck are you wearing?!")

"Oh this?...uh...protection pretty much!"

("From what?!")

"The Tempo's! They're mindless killing machines so the Mood stones hooked me up with this in the hopes that I take as little a beating as possible from em!"

("You mean those guys didn't hold you hostage?")

"Of course not! They're chill dudes! I thought YOU were being held captive! But I trusted my gut through and through, you're too much tough gal to let yourself be someone's hostage!"

She snickers as an egotistical grin forms on her face ("Smart Mutt.") As she laughs, Parappa notices the trio behind her.

("Hello! Are you three friends of new pals of Ma-san?") they quickly leave their 'hiding' spot once Parappa speaks like that, staring at him in awe.

("You can talk like us!")

("But you're not us! You're something weird!")

("You're a Mood Stone!")

("Eheh…") Parappa rubs his head awkwardly. _Kinda see how they got attached to Ma-san so easily._ ("I guess to you I would be weird, but I'm not a Mood Stone. I'm just helping them! What are you three doin away from the rest of the Tempo's?")

("There so called 'Uncle' keeps em all stowed away to avoid being influenced by the leader here.")

("What? Why's that?...Wouldn't that normally be considered uh...traitorous to the group cause?")

("Yeah well, apparently Ur is the reason these guys are so destructive, being told they're only meant to do this sorta thing. I dunno propaganda or something like that. All I really know is, I frankly don't really care...well I didn't, then these three buttered me up to much.")

Parappa softly chuckles ("Well it's nice that they helped you avoid a rather bad situation! As well as helped you ease up!")

As the two spoke on, the remaining three stayed behind their cover.

"I'm starting to think we should pop out as well."

"Or at the very least drag Parappa back here."

"Then what? We'd give ourselves away and ruin everything! Nu uh. We're staying here till something big happens."

"Matt that does not seem-"

"Yes Katy! I know! It's just right now, trying to keep everyone safe is a bigger priority! Parappa can handle himself! We only go in when we see something we know he can't handle."

Katy and Paula look at each other uneasily "Alright…"

"If you say so Matt…"

"Good." _I really hope there's SOME merit to my words…_

The children behind Ma-san and Parappa huddle out form their cover and stare at each other. They soon try to get along like their 'bodyguards' are, and they hit it off quite well as they just play around the area. Said bodyguards simply laugh as they resume chatting with each other.

The girls all converse with each other themselves to see what there is to learn about one another...well at least attempting to, since the trio couldn't understand Dacite and the duo couldn't understand the three sisters, but a solution came quickly thanks to Mica and her form of talking that the remainder four quickly decided to use. And thus all sorts of stories began being spread between one another, there was no indication if this was a good thing which caused the hiding trio to panic until they five children began laughing with delight between each other.

"Oh thank god…"

"That could've been bad…"

"There's too much to deal with right now...but at least this went ok…"

They all sigh in rather forced relief, until…

("What do you mean by that?...")

Paula swallows roughly "Ooooh...that sounds like she's taking offense to whatever the heck he's talking about now...and judging by how 'well' that turned out with me...this won't end well…" They look onwards.

("I mean I'm just saying I'm glad there were people here to keep you calm when we were sorta...preoccupied...Normally you tend to go off when things start going south…especially when separated from Katy and Lammy...but you didn't now!")

("And just what do you mean by 'go off'...") She began tapping her foot on the ground rapidly as her fuse began flickering on and off.

"Choose your words wisely Parappa…" Katy says as she stares from afar.

("Well you're just as emotional as the rest of us when things start taking a turn for the worse...and that temper of yours sometimes can be a driving or adding factor in the long ru-") Parappa brings up his shield before the maces that Ma-san had could hit him ("H-HEY!...")

("Oh. I'm sorry, my temper is just becoming an adding factor. MY BAD.") She repeatedly strikes down on his shield aggressively from his poor choice of words while the five children try to stop her.

("I'm just saying I don't want a close friend to burn out!...I know from experience how badly rampart emotions can affect everything!...I would never want a best friend to suffer that!...")

("Like HELL i'd become like THAT! I'm not like you!") she keeps on beating down upon the shield ("I'M NOT A MESS LIKE YOU!...YOU WITH LETTING THINGS GO AND HAPPEN TO YOURSELF AND THEN SHRUG IT OFF? FOR WHAT?!")

("W-What? I didn't say you'd be like me…")

("SHUT UP SHUT UP…") she realizes what she said, but it only makes her more upset as she keeps on striking the shield.

"Oh nononono...C-COME ON! W-WE GOTTA BREAK THE FIGHT APART!" As Katy was about to spring into action, Matt drags her back to the ground "WHAT THE HELL MATT?"

"Shut up and look!..." Matt points towards a rustling group of trees.

("WHAT GOES ON OVER HERE?!") Ur storms forth to witness Ma-san trying to attack Parappa, as well as the five children ("Well...seems we have intruders...and hidden members of our own…")

Ma-san would've facepalmed at failing to guard the three kids were it not for her anger, she however does stop attempting to hit Parappa ("Feh…")

("Well I'll be! Isn't he one of the people you were looking for?") Ma-san looks to Ur then back to Parappa with a glare ("No...he's just an idiotic intruder…")

("M-Ma-san?...")

("Then you wouldn't mind us evicting him?~")

Ma-san simply turns her back ("...")

("Ma-san?...You're not...really gonna let him are you?...") Parappa stares at her genuinely afraid.

("Do whatever you want…I just don't want to look at him right now...")

("Gladly!") Ur lifts up his guitar built blade and attempts to slash down at Parappa, who simply lifts his shield, bracing for impact.

("HEY! I thought you were just gonna kick him out!") Ma-san attempts to get him to stop, however.

("Oh don't worry! I will! Once he can no longer-")

"MOVE!" Matt slides along the ground, dashing through Ur's legs, toppling him over backwards from his body weight and armor weight.

"M-Matt?! H-How did you?"

"Like I said, these suckers are top heavy, and thanks to this armor. I'm perfectly fine and not charred to a crisp!"

("GAH!...HOW DARE YOU!...EY YOU TWO! ATTACK!") Two other Tempo's hidden behind the trees lunge out, but rather than attacking, they simply pay attention to the five children cowering together, simply dumbfounded that they stay near one another at all ("What are you two oafs doing?! ATTACK...!") Ma-san takes the opportunity to help the three children she was guarding, get away, but they struggle in doing so.

("I don't want to leave my new friend behind! They'll be killed by them!")

("Would you rather die in their stead?!")

("If it keeps them safe then yes!")

("Deto will never shut up if I let that happen!...Now come on! Let's go!...") This all simply confuses the two other Tempo's as they drop their weapons and their guards, but before they can do another action, they are forced to the ground by Katy and Paula who do the same action Matt did to Ur.

"Timber!"

"Guess they go down real easy when they're bigger after all!"

("You brainless idiots really got distracted by that?!") Ur struggles to get up.

"And with that! We're out of here!" Katy dashes off as she picks up Dacite, while Paula yanks up Mica. Matt follows after as he picks up Parappa.

"Wait! M-Ma-san!..." Parappa shouts over Matt's shoulder as she runs in the opposite direction with the three fire girls.

As the three get far enough away they converse between one another in a panic. Beginning with Matt who simply berates Parappa "Why the hell did you feel the need to run out in the open?!"

"What do you mean why?! We finally found Ma-san! That means all of us ARE ok!...Why WOULDN'T I try to help get her back to safety?!"

"Well not really doing a good job are you then?"

"She just started attacking me!"

"You pressed the wrong buttons!"

"Matt I was just telling the truth over what I was thankful to avoid!"

"And then you cause the problem you ended up fearing."

"UNINTENTIONALLY!..."

"Guys, enough! We don't need more friendly fire…"

"Katy's right! For now we gotta regroup back with the Mood stones…,but oh man is this not gonna end well…Not only do we NOT have any info...but I think we may have provoked another forced confrontation with what we did…"

"It's not like we KILLED anyone Paula..."

"Yes, but do you really think THOSE guys will take that sitting down Matt?"

"...I refuse to say you're right."

"But you acknowledge that I am in general."

"ENOUGH! Besides, we **do** have _something_ of value for Pallet. It seems the kids really got along well with Dacite and Mica. And not only that, but the adults, minus that big one that tried to off Parappa, also seem to take notice and may potentially have the same prefered thoughts in their heads!"

"That's a big if to go by…" Katy says as she marvels over the events that went down.

"With what we're going by, it's all we really have to work with…"

* * *

("What's with all the racket out he-")

("DETO!")

("Oh no…")

("You...YOU...First you are to help me and these idiots get back up, second YOU are bringing all the children you have held out from our lifestyle FRONT AND CENTER. And three...you are joining us as we take our final assault on the Mood stones.")

("And if I refuse?")

("We will get up, regardless of help or not, and when I do...I'll make sure those children pay for your ineptitude.")

("You killed off the following generation of our friends?!")

("You defied our ways, you poisoned the mind of the following generations from the truth! And therefore, must be terminated...but I am willing to look the other way if you comply…and friends? There's no need for friendship with us.")

Deto ponders his options, he knows what the only answer is, but can't help but want to find any GOOD outcome. There's no such outcome and thus with a heavy sigh ("...Very well…") agrees and begins helping the two up.

("Good man! Now, after we slaughter those damned walking statues, that is when you are to release the small ones to our custody. Including the three that…") He taps his chin ("Ma-san ran off with.")

("Oh did she?...")

("Yes, find her and escort her back, I need to persuade her to…join our cause...")

("I-")

("Or will you defy me...again?")

("On it…")

* * *

"I see….this is...a rather intriguing situation…" Pallet says as he clutches his head.

"We're...terribly sorry Pallet...for...causing another unneeded confrontation…"

"No it was rather inevitable...we're just glad you lot are safe. As well as giving us this information."

"But can you make anything happen from that?"

"Young Major, we will see if we can manage something! Ur seems to be rather...neglectful of his own brothers in arms...and they seem to be progressively going against him. If we can tip the scales a tad further then we may just have what we need to finally end this, but we'll need Ur out of the picture...easier said than done…"

"We can help!" Parappa says as he bumps Matt aside from his quick entrance.

"Unfortunately this I must decline. You got lucky in the confrontation, but I don't think you'll get lucky again."

"Pallet's right man, we did our part…"

"But Matt, I know we can do SOMETHING!"

"We managed because it was only three of them...I don't think we can muster the capability to go against an army…"

"But we haven't even given it a shot!..."

"I'm afraid I have to deny any shots my small friend."

"And I'm denying anything else. Dude our top priorities are getting Ma-san, making sure we're all ok, and that you don't get hurt again. I'm gonna make sure all of them, especially the third one, come to fruition!"

"ARGH…" Parappa storms out of the hut irritably as he tries to kick the dirt but fumbles and trips and falls onto his back "Ugh…" Mica and Dacite hover over him to see if he's alright.

"Are you ok Mister Parappa?..."

"Yeah...I just...want to help you all end this! But now it seems i'm benched from doing so…" He squishes his head in anger "I mean I know they're looking out for everyone and trying to prevent as many unneeded accidents, but it's not like we're useless or a liability...even my own friend thinks that way...or does he just think I am?..."

"You're not mister…"

"I'd hope not...but I don't think they agree with that…" he sits up "Hmm…" Parappa thinks up a way to sneak himself into battle to aide the rest, but stops once he notices the two staring at him as if something was on his face, prompting him to stop and rub the back of his head awkwardly.

Mica tilts her head as if to say 'What'.

"It's nothing...I just need you two to get to safety now...but actually...before that… What were you two talking about with the Tempo girls?"

"Oh! Just over how much we had in common! Especially our enjoyment over music! They can't really express it as much ever since the needless war began…" Mica nods to approve Dacite's words as the truth "Of course we're in the same boat...everyone used to sing all day whenever we felt like it!...and then we started fighting the Tempo's...it was...not fun…" Both look down.

"I bet it wasn't…" _but it does help in finding out how to stop all this once and for all...neither side WANTS to do this...and would rather just play music...that won't really work here…instead how about we just get them to see that this is what they both want...and maybe more in common things will come to realization?_ "Well...for now you two get to safety...it's late anyway...I guess I'll just be sitting this one out…" _Hell no I won't, but I can't tell them that._

"Ok...will we see you tomorrow to?"

"Of course!" He gives them his iconic thumbs up "You can believe in that!" _And if my plan goes by accordingly, we'll be able to hang out in the outside world!_

They nod and run off leaving Parappa to sigh in relief.

"This has got to work!'

"What has got to work?" Katy says as she hovers behind him.

"WAAAAAH! D-Don't sneak up on me like that!..."

"Don't change the topic...what are you planning?"

"If I tell you, you'll more than likely tell Pallet or Matt!"

"I can promise you I won't!" She smiles brightly and gives a single nod to reassure him, unbeknownst to him that her fingers were crossed.

"Well...currently...we're kinda benched as the Mood stones would rather handle everything themselves...but I offered to help and that even includes helping here! But with Pallet and Matt kind of against that...I decided I'd...sneak into the battle as a surprise ally assistance!"

"Uh-huh…"

"Yeah! All so I can get both groups to see that this is pointless as they both would be rather off doing something they both love! And I know I can help with that! Because they both just wanna play music again! And music is what I'll bring to the table!"

"Ok! That's good to hear!...now if you can excuse me…" She makes a beeline for the hut that Pallet and Matt are in, only for Parappa to dive tackle her into the ground.

"HEY!...YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T!..."

"I WOULD RATHER YOU _**NOT**_ ENDANGER YOURSELF FURTHER!..."

"But I _won't_ be in any danger at all! I really believe this'll work! But they won't give it a shot!...So I will!..."

"I have great insight to know that this will not end well…" She simply shoves him off to stand up and dust herself off, but she does not attempt to alert the others to his plan.

"Come on...I thought _you_ of all people would believe in me…"

"It's not that I don't...it's just that knowing our track record...something's gonna happen...I can feel it in my gut...and I would rather avoid it in general…"

"But we could be ending their pointless battlin' for good! Without ANY of them needing to get hurt…"

"And what about you?...Are you willing to get hurt yourself should something go amok?"

"If it guarantees EVERYONE'S happiness then getting a little roughed up isn't exactly bad…"

"You never change...and you know if things go south it won't be you getting just 'a little roughed up'..."

"Yeah...I know...but I just don't wanna see this carry on...you remember the story of how battling over music evolved into just being superior than the other, and how that ended the lives of so many!...and this is just happening again!...only now we're watching it live...and I gotta stop it while I can…" he pulls off his hat and runs his fingers along the sewn on insignias "I don't want them to end up like this…"

"Parappa…"

He simply looks at her with sad eyes.

"Parappa no..."

He gives her the equivalent of sad puppy dog eyes.

"Parappa no that's not fair...stop it…."

He starts to cry.

"Ohhhh" She punches the back of her head a few times for letting herself fall victim to this "OK OK OK OK...fine...I'll help you carry this out…" Parappa instantaneously regains his cheery composure.

"Thanks Katy! You're the best!"

"Yeah yeah…" _Oh the perks of being an adorable dog…_ "So tell me the full plan…"

"Well first...I think we might need more help with this...so we're gonna be recruiting two more people!"

"Oh? Who and why?"

"PJ and Lammy! And as for why, I'll need PJ's help in building some things and Lammy's to help create some tools needed for you and her!" His answer simply confuses and worries her.

"You sure Matt won't catch on? And are you sure PJ and Lammy will be game for this?"

"Not if we play our cards right! And that all depends on what they're doing now...they still might be busy taking care of Sweety…" He places his hat back on his head "But we won't know for sure unless we check!"

"Oh boy...alright, let's go!"

As they run off to the medical hut that houses the others, Parappa immediately explains his plan to PJ and Lammy who simply give him mixed results in what he was hoping for in an answer.

"What do you mean no? We really need your help!"

"Look man, Sweety's fever may have gone down and she may be sleeping peacefully for now, but I'm not just gonna up and leave her alone to go along and help you with this. She might need me."

"I mean...h-he has a point Parappa...we really should have s-someone keeping an eye over her to help when n-needed…"

"I know...how about you Lammy? Will you help at the very least?"

"I...d-don't know if I c-could or should…" She rubs her arm "It's n-nice what you're trying to do...b-but what your d-describing seems like i-it has to be done perfectly, s-step by step in order for it to w-work...and I'm afraid I might be the w-weak link that will cause it all to go w-wrong…"

"That's not true! You'll be a great help Lammy! I know we can count on you!"

"When Parappa's right, he's right!" Katy says trying to help Parappa motivate Lammy, but she still stays rather indecisive "I know that you'd be a great help!"

"I...still d-don't think it'd be a g-good ide-" Parappa grabs her hands with his own as he gives her a pleading look.

"Please Lammy...I know we can make the plan a reality if you help us...it won't work if both of you are unable to help…"

"B-But…" She swallows roughly to try to keep her head together "I-I don't even have my guitar with me...I'm not sure I can...and there's nothing really here to make me believe it's in my mind…"

"That's what part of the plan is! I need your help to build two guitars! We both learned how to from Mr. Paul Chuck remember?" He wasn't lying as Lammy built hers when she ended up leaving her original one with Captain Fussenpepper, she still got it back by the end of the day however. And Parappa built one as well during the build up to said concert, but the whole idea of it wasn't exactly easy, they needed chainsaws in order to do so as an axe would take much longer and would most likely NOT give them the needed results for the guitar.

"But w-we need chainsaws don't we?..."

"I'm the son of the town's most…'creative' inventor! You just let me handle that!"

"Parappa you'll most likely end up cutting your hands clean off trying to make one." PJ says with his arms folded.

"Then why not help him in making them?" Paula says as she enters the hut.

"I can't do that, I need to be taking-"

"Yeah yeah you don't want to leave your girlfriend alone in case she's in need of something, but you got me to handle that for ya!"

"Oh that won't be necessar-"

"What's the matter, think I can't?"

"Well no it's just-"

"Don't like the idea of your ex helping your current girlfriend?"

"I uh…" PJ stays silent. PJ was never one to have the gift of gab, but whenever he did decide to speak, there was little anyone could do to shut him up. Unless you happen to be one of two people. Sweety Bancha, or Paula Fox "N-Nooooooo…" His eyes scatter from corner to corner, trying to avoid eye contact.

Paula can't help but giggle, barely holding back full on laughter "Oh my god...that's _REALLY_ the reason as to why? I didn't take you to be the awkward type 'Mr. Smooth DJ'!" She begins laughing out fully "This is something I'd expect from Parappa or Matt! Not you!"

"Hey! That's!...very accurate to my persona...but that's still not funny to point out!" Parappa states as he flails his arms about.

"Ihihihi'm sohohohorry! It's just such a funny thing to worry over!"

Paula and PJ hooked up years ago. The whole thing began after Paula fell in love with a DJ at Club Fun. Lo and behold her surprise when PJ was said DJ she went gaga over. After a set up date to see if anything was there between them, the two kept the whole ordeal a secret as to whether or not they were a couple. Paula simply said they'd be better of as friends, and everyone chose to believe it. It wasn't until the very next year that the two decided to start dating after certain 'circumstances' came up. The couple only really lasted as far as a year when both of them realized they loved a different person altogether. And so the two decided to move on as friends, but it seems PJ still kept over a hint of awkward air even until now.

"Ugh...you know what, fine. You're right. This is a pointless thing to worry over, i'm not a fool! I trust that you can help my girlfriend out in case something comes up. I'm not worrying at all!" The four of them simply stare at PJ as his head turns blue with many many sweat drops ejecting out of his head, only to reply with an in unison.

"Uh-huh…sure…"

"OKAY! The plan is now underway!" PJ plucks up Parappa.

"Wah-hey!..." Parappa struggles in his grasp "Give a guy a warning first at the very least!"

PJ ignores him as he turns to Lammy "We'll be done and back before you know it."

The tinkering went on rather smoothly as with the resources they had, the two managed to make two fully working chainsaws...well..as effective as it can be with limited sources.

"You know, I was gonna say 'Why don't we just build a guitar', but now I see that it probably would've ended up as flimsy as these chainsaws...so...think these'll cut it?" PJ looks at Parappa fiddling with his chainsaw, his only reply is pulling on the cord to get the thing running.

"Oh they're work…can't say for sure for how long, but they'll get the job done...we just gotta be quick...or else they'll fall apart mid job…"

"If you say so, anything ELSE you want us to make?"

"Amps and speakers."

"Sheesh how the hell do you think we'll be able to make those?"

"See...here's the thing...I need YOU to go over to Matt and convince him to help you make em."

"This is a terrible idea."

"Let me finish! If he gets curious as to why...just tell him, I wanna sing to the kids. He'll believe it as he clearly SAW how attached I was to them."

"Hmmm. I still see flaws, but very well. How many of each?"

"Two Amps, eight speakers."

"Uh-huh...and what'll you be doing?"

"Gonna get started on the guitars! They'll be for Lammy and Katy! I'll handle the electrical bits when it comes to connecting them to the amps. Luckily Paul managed to teach me about that so it should be no biggie."

"Man you really thought this through...and after the amps and speakers are done with?"

"I'll explain when we get to that! For now get to making them with Matt! I gotta go!" he runs off with both chainsaws leaving PJ to just stare.

"I hope whatever it is you're trying to do works…" He heads off to the hut where Matt's at "Even with Matt's help, the amps and speakers won't really last long either...Your plan literally has to be flawless on the first go...no test or nothing...and on the last second as well." He chuckles "Glad to see somethings don't change with you!"

* * *

"Alright Lammy, you ready?"

"N-Not really, no…" she struggles to keep the chainsaw in her hands steady "Not only do we have to a-actually make the guitars...b-but we're on a _**TIMER**_?..." She struggles to imagine that the guitar is in her mind from all the stress.

"But you'll be fine on both records! You built a great guitar AND you did it in under a minute! This should be nothing to you!"

"I-I mean b-back then it was a d-different thing a-altogether..."

"Don't you believe in yourself?..."

"I-It's really hard to...especially in situations like this…"

"I believe in you…"

"And I still never understand why you do…"

"Because I know you can, guitar or not." He stares at the tree in front of him, then the tree in front of her, before looking back to her "I know that you'd never let anyone down. I think it's impossible for you to."

"You really love looking at me in t-that fake limelight h-huh?"

"Well yeah, but it's not a fake one. It's real just like the amazing talent you have. It certainly was an inspiration to me that's for sure!"

"R-Really?..."

"Of course! I can't think of the times I would've nearly messed something up were it not for the fact I just recall one of your accomplishments and the rest simply plays out flawlessly." he smiles "I feel like I could do a lot. If I just believe and think of some amazing thing you did...then I know I can do it. Heck, if I wanted to, I could even hit all the jackpots over at a casino!"

 _Casino...casino...casino…_ the last word he says as well as his little self inspirational banter strike in Lammy's head in constant echoes as she closes her eyes and shakes her head to clear the thoughts. Once she opens her eyes she sports a confident grin as she revs the chainsaw up.

"Let's make some guitars!~"

"There's our girl!" Parappa revs his up "Let's get to work!"

Katy simply smiles as she listens to the duo, hidden behind a tree that she's currently leaning on as she quietly sings to herself.

 _Where's that place that comes in_ _ **pairs**_ _whenever I'm aware?_

 _Casino here, Casino there, Casino in my hair~_


	12. Heat of the moment

"Tell me who you are!"

"You must be a star!"

"But are you my shining star?" They both laugh as they finish up the two guitars perfectly "The answer to that is yes! We did it Lammy! And just in the nick of time to." The chainsaws fall apart in their hands, their use fulfilled "Haha talk about cutting it close! Now let's see our guitars!"

Lammy playful chuckles at Parappa's unintentional pun "It's rather nice! I think we actually ended up making ones that were better than the first! And this is after FIVE years of absolutely no practice! Guess all one really needs is a good ol guitar maker friend to keep you motivated!"

"You can say that again!" Parappa picks both of the guitars up and hands one of them to Lammy "You remember the rest to make it work with electrical equipment?"

"We're gonna find out." She along with Parappa begin working on the new wooden creations "So what is it you want me and Katy to do with these?"

"Play a song."

"Well yeah, that much is obvious. I mean what song and what for?"

"The song is a simple one that I'm sure Katy will help with along the way. And it's for the battle the two groups will be having...or rather, the lack thereof."

"Oh?"

"See I'm gonna be hiding the speakers around the area they'll be meeting at, while you two hide at the opposite sides of the field with your appropriate amps. Then you two will begin to play the song I have in mind which will envelop the whole battlefield."

"Just our guitar playing?..."

"Well no!" He pulls out a microphone from his pocket "I'll be singing with this! It's an portable waterproof microphone my dad made me. In case I ever wanted to sing again out in the open. I've been carrying it around ever since I came out of the hospital again to see if I could get my mojo running again. And boy was that a good idea cuz it also has a built in translator! Meaning I can be singing like this and the Tempo's will STILL understand me! Of course understand me or not, it'll be hard to resist a funky tune when you've been so starved for music. Also here!" He detaches two small nodes from the bottom of the mic and hands it to her "These are headpiece mics for the two of you! I want you both to sing with me! They also have a built in voice translator! Now we'll be singing the song as you two also provide the music, together it should 'hopefully' get the two groups to stop fighting and 'possibly' embrace each others as friends and become lovers of music again!"

"And you think the Tempo's will just cooperate and sit still as this goes along?"

"Nope. That's where the final step comes in. I'll be helping PJ create traps made from the trees here that will disarm the Tempo's, leaving them with no other option but to listen!"

"And if they resort to hand to hand?"

"Well if they're STILL stubborn in going for a battle, then we just knock em over!"

"Knock them over?"

"Yeah! All the Tempo's are RIDICULOUSLY heavy! If they topple over, they're like a turtle! They can't get back up unless helped!"

"That _would_ leave them rather docile at that point...hm…" She finishes up her guitar "Will...you be ok? I assume since you'll be lead singing...you'll have to be smack dab in the MIDDLE of the battlefield won't you?..."

"Ahah...yeah...for this to work I'll have to be the center of attention yes…" He runs behind a tree and reappears a minute later wearing his armor again with his shield "But I have this so I should make it there simple enough! And once they're all incapacitated, then I'll have nothing to worry about except that I don't mess up my part." He runs back behind the tree and reappears with his regular clothes back on.

Lammy simply glances at her guitar, not wanting to look at him. The confidence she was sporting was quickly waning at the thought of him purposefully tossing himself into danger again "Y-You sure that'll be enough?..."

Parappa quickly notices that Lammy's beginning to lose her moxie and tries to think up a better way to word his next reply "Uh...yeah! This shield can stop whatever they throw at me! If they even get the chance to throw anything at all! And the armor is almost as durable! And very heatproof! So contact with them won't be a bother either! Plus they're all rather big clunky and slow, and me bein a little guy kinda gives me an already unfair advantage against em!"

Lammy takes a deep breath and gives a stoic "Ok." She stops fiddling with her guitar as she gives it one last glance "I'm done with mine." She hoists it over her shoulder and walks over to Parappa "Need help?"

"No I almost got it...there! Here! Give this one to Katy!"

"Will do, now go to PJ already and get the last bit of preparations done with so we can see this through already." As she walks off, she stops for a bit before turning back to him. She bends over to whisper into his ear, the sudden action catches him off guard as he begins heating up " _I'm choosing to go against my better judgement and believe that you'll be fine. Currently? My stomach's punching itself and I should really be huddling on the ground clutching it in an anxious struggle right about now, but no. I believe in you one hundred percent."_ Parappa hears a soft giggle, but what she says afterwards wasn't exactly as uplifting " _And if you do end up getting somewhat scuffed up, i'm afraid this new guitar will meet its end!"_

"W-Why's that?..." She doesn't reply, she simply taps the guitar lightly on his head, immediately he gets the picture "A-Ahahahaha!...T-That won't happen!...T-Trust me I-I'll be fine!..."

She stands back upright, smiling as she faces him "I know you will! You're not a liar after all. Just wanted to spook some motivation in you to guarantee it!" She walks off, once she's out of sight, Parappa collapses onto his hands and knees. His entire body as red as a tomato.

"With motivation like that, how could I be so cruel to let her down! H-Hahahaa…" steam begins blowing out of his ears as sweat ejects from his forehead like a sprinkler. _That was...intense...a bit TO intense, even for her standards!...H-Hehe...I guess I motivated her much more effectively than I thought...n-not that it was a BAD thing...just caught me off guard is all...y-yeah that's it...phew…_ Parappa shakes his head before getting back up "Alright time to go check up on PJ and Matt!" with a second wind, he runs off.

Meanwhile, once Lammy noted she was fully out of sight and mind, she herself collapsed onto the ground, her own body a tomato imitation as she clutches her stomach. _What did I_ _ **DO**_ _!? What got over me to make me do..._ _ **THAT**_ _...Ohhhhh….oh no...g-gonna hurl…_ Her face turns blue and green as she holds her mouth shut, she manages to stop herself from vomiting, but swallowing it back down wasn't exactly a better ending "Bleghhhh...g-gross...oooohhh...oh man he's probably all tense about it now...I probably terrified him!..."

"If anything, it's sure to keep him on his toes so that he doesn't get hurt at all!"

"W-Wha-huh?! K-Katy? W-What are you doing here?!..." She stumbles back onto her feet and backpedals into a tree.

"I was watchin over my two besties! Getting along, motivatin one another, makin guitars, assertin your dominance in the relationship!"

"A-Asserting my w-wha-..." steam ejects out her ears with a train whistle as her eyes turn to spirals "Y-YOU HEARD T-THAT?!..."

"Cat ears are just as effective as dog ones~"

"H-How much did y-you hear?!"

"Oh just...ALL OF IT!~" She grabs Lammy's hands and bounces up and down with her "Ooooooh! Lammy that was amazing! You just all stoic and taking control of the situation! And he clearly noticed! And it struck ALOT of things in him! One of which may even be heavy interest!~"

"A-Ah...e-e...I...oooo...uhhh…" Literal sparks fly out of Lammy's head as if she was a machine that was beginning to malfunction.

"L-Lammy?..."

"H-Hahahahaaaaaaaa…" she collapses onto Katy, unconscious.

"U-Uh oh...L-Lammy wake up!...w-we gotta practice the song Parappa wanted us to play the music to!" She shakes her unconscious friend, to no avail.

"F-Five more minutes mamaaaa…" is all Lammy manages to mumble out.

"Oh no…oh nonononono...I might have single handedly just ruined all of this..." she stampers in place from panic "Nonono...what do I do now…" she calms down and sighs "I guess I gotta wake up early when she comes to so we can practice then...no...she doesn't know it and she can't just learn it that quickly...guitar or not...but maybe she can with a song she already heard?..." She groans from her own disdain "I'm sorry Parappa...but at the very least you'll know the song that I have in mind…Come on I gotta get you to bed..." she walks back to camp with Lammy reclining on her shoulder.

* * *

Matt finishes handing over the equipment to Parappa "Man I was suspicious at first, but i'm glad you actually decided to agree with us. Safety is the best option here. And it's nice that you're trying to keep the kids calm during this!"

"Yeah they really rubbed off on me...hahah…" _I feel sick with myself...lying to both the kids AND Matt…_

"I could tell! Especially with how Dacite and Mica latched onto you!" He chuckles "It's certainly nice seeing you having fun again, I miss this cheery Parappa."

 _You're making me feel worse, please stop being nice to meeee….I don't deserve it right about now…_ "Yeah well...I think everyone has, but I was rather worried if I could go back to that? I feel like it'd be hard. Now I see it was dumb of me to think that way. Once I started playing with the kids here I guess it just reignited one of the old reasons as to why I wanted to do this in the first place all those years ago!"

"I could tell. Haha. Well is there anything you'd like me to do now?"

"Uh...yeah! Where's the battle gonna take place? I wanna steer clear from that place so I don't get the kids into any danger. I also don't wanna attract the Tempo's over with the sound of the music."

"Smart thinking. Well from what Pallet found out. They'll be fighting in that main clearing over there! Apparently it's where they go to fight whenever it's a big BIG dispute." He scratches his head "Funny how they have an organized place for battle...goes to show how long they've been at it...I don't know if that's funny or sad…" he chuckle awkwardly.

"Yeahhhh...well anyway, Paula needs your help with Sweety! Since PJ will be helping me set these up!"

"Why not just ask me to help you?"

"Well PJ's a teddy bear! That'd probably keep the kids distracted enough as I set it up!"

"Huh...didn't think about that...Alright!" with that said, Matt heads off to the hut where Paula and Sweety are at.

"Ugh...it's for the greater good Parappa...he knows it just as much as you do!...At least he will know it once it's all over...now to set these up with PJ!...He should still be waiting outside!" He runs out with the gear in tow to spot PJ still waiting for him while reclining sideways on the wall, yet Parappa feels something off "Yo PJ, got the things, ready to set up?"

PJ simply gets off the wall and turns to look at Parappa, but Parappa quickly notices that his face is blue as if something was wrong.

"PJ?...Yo man what's wrong?..."

He sighs as the two tiny heads poke out from behind his legs, revealing Dacite and Mica.

"...A-Ahah...y-yeah these are meant to set up a party for you kids while the others fight the Tem-"

"Mister PJ already told us the truth."

"PJ why?!"

"I'm sorry man...i'm a teddy bear...it's in my blood to be there for anxious people or kids for whatever they need...and these kids wanted to know what we were really doing…"

"Seriously...ugh...well I can't say that you're wrong…Anywho why did you two wanna know what we're doing?..."

"We felt something was up when you told us to head back! And we were right! So we wanna help!"

Mica nods to what Dacite says.

"No way, we already have everything set and settled and I don't wanna add any extra steps that may cause complications! And you aren't changing my mind!"

"We'll tell Mister Matt and Sir Pallet if you don't."

"Welcome aboard!" Parappa's eye twitches as he's forced to say these words. The girls throw their arms in the air as they shout yay, or in Mica's case, implying that they said yay as they run back to their shelter. _Oh boy...can anything ELSE go astray?_ "Well PJ...before anything else intrudes...let's just begin setting up…"

"You found out the place from Matt?"

"Yeah...so let's go hide these things already…we still have one more thing we gotta do afterwards…"

"That being?"

"Traps!"

"...Why?..."

"Tempo's aren't just gonna sit quietly sucking on their thumbs while we just let the plan go in action! So we set things that bust their weapons as well as tip them over!"

"Tip em over? Oh yeah, I think I recall Matt saying they're top heavy. So that means they won't be able to get back up?"

"Bingo. Now come on, let's lug these things over in that direction!"

"Alright then."

The two hide the speakers all over specific points in the battlefield where they're guaranteed to not be disturbed while also being able to envelope the entire field with the eventual music "So I should probably mention these things won't last long once turned on to be used."

"I kinda figured, but with Matt's help they should at the very least last way longer than our chainsaws!"

"Well you're not wrong, but Parappa, you gotta make it all count. You only have enough for one song that can't be too long or flashy. No do overs. It's gotta be one and done or else they'll end up falling apart mid use and that'd be really bad for you."

"I know I know, it all came to mind when I thought it up in the first place...but if that's the case then maybe I won't be able to play this new song...I'll have to think up a new one on the spot…"

"Is the new one really that long?"

"It's not so much long it's just that I wanna entice a group reaction out of the Tempo Tantrums and the Mood Stones!..."

"Ah, I get what you mean. Yeah that would take more time than you got. Unless it was a song that just had that...I dunno how to word it." He taps his chin until he manages to come up with something "That classic Parappa flow."

"The new song had that!...A-At least...I would hope it does…"

"Then how can you rely on that song if not even _you're_ sure it does?"

"I dunno...I guess It was me fooling myself into thinking that, 'hey, since i'm out of that funk, why not test my return to the scene by fixing the problem here?', but in reality it's just not meant to be..." _It's probably for the best…_ He sighs dejectedly "I'll save the song for another day I 'spose."

"Well don't shoot yourself down entirely...sheesh your bad moods contagious…hold on…" He pulls out some shades from his shirt pocket and places them on "There, now I can stomach the negativity just a bit more. Look, that new song of yours is probably better off for something else when you fully have the confidence to unveil it. Right now probably isn't the best time if unity is your main objective man."

"Hm...You're right. That would be for the best. Guess I should tone down my forward excitement just a smidge. Of course now I need to think up a different song to sing…"

"Oh I'm sure that'll come to you before you know it! It always has before when you started singing on your own WITHOUT a teacher." He sets down the final speaker "Now...what about the amps?"

"Lammy and Katy have that part. They'll be setting up at the opposite ends of the field."

"So the entrances to the battle?...You sure they'll be fine?..."

"That's what the traps and me are for! Besides everyone will more than likely focus me down since I'll be smack dab in the middle of the battlefield!"

"Hoo boy...you better take care."

"I will! Lammy already gave me enough motivation for that...h-hehe…" Parappa recalls the friendly little..'realistic' lie Lammy made as it forces a shiver that begins at the tip of his head to the ends of his feet.

PJ simply stares at him with a worried expression "What...happened? Should I be concerned?"

Parappa glows red once more "N-Nono! That won't be necessary! H-Hahah!" He tries to force his eyes to look at PJ, but to no avail as they keep darting in every other direction.

"I...will just let this slide...for now." he crosses his arms "Ok so they'll be there and you'll be here. What are we gonna make the traps out of?"

"We innovate! Here we have the big ol' trees here to help make battering rams that'll knock em over easily! And we should be able to make things that can break their weapons to!"

"Well that's fine and all, but with axes it'll take forever to cut down enough-"

"KICK!" Parappa kicks through the trunk of a tree, knocking it over in one fell swoop.

"...Or that...that works…" PJ facepalms "Your brute deforestation tactics aside...where do you plan on holding up the traps?"

"In certain angles around the area that will cover the speakers _and_ the girls should the Tempos try and be crafty." He kicks down another tree "We just gotta hang a good lot of these up and around and set a trigger tripwire or have some that need to be manually set off by us."

"Very well...as for disarming them. I don't think wood will be strong enough to break their weapons-"

"PUNCH!" Parappa smashes a nearby rock, turning it into shards of pointed stones "Owowowow...hands still healing...but you get the picture."

"Yeah...might wanna resort to kicking the remaining rocks…"

"Noted. Anyway I gotta hurry. It's getting really late and if I don't keep up with my sleeping, the girls will probably strangle me."

"I will to now that you bring it up. Doctor's orders and all that."

"Yeah yeah. Relax man I'll be fine! Just gotta hurry is all." He stomps another rock and kicks another tree over "But I won't get anywhere if I stay here talking!"

"Your legs are gonna hate you by the end of this…"

"Then why don't you help? Tamanegi taught you to…"

"Ehhhh…..I mean he taught all of us, but no one really ever took it to such a calibre like you and Paula did so I...will innovate in my own way."

"Exactly."

"Oh shut up." PJ begins rolling one of the felled trees away "I'll begin turning this and the other ones you make into proper Battering Rams, you just help with telling me where I gotta put em. As well as what things you plan on turning those pointy rocks into."

"Don't expect me to bring to many since I plan to knock over as many as we can get with just one. So I'll expect really only eight or nine of these? Any stragglers will just have me, Mica and Dacite tip em over like cows!"

"Just be careful, something in my gut is just worrying me. Since we passed those torches by the entrance of this area, I just felt...off...as if SOMETHING'S gonna tip em off…"

"With pessimism like that, of course things will go wrong! Don't worry. They're not here to know what we got in store!"

"I hope you're right…"

As time passes, the duo set up the nine battering ram traps as well as created sharp stone projectiles that will be aimed to snap the invaders weapons into pieces, nullifying any use they'll manage to get from them.

"And that...should be it! We're golden!"

"Phew...oh man I keep forgetting how much effort your little ideas always cost me." He stretches his back until he hears a crack "Ugh...ow…"

"Haha, it's good exercise for you! And I _know_ you need it badly!"

"I prefer hibernating."

"Daily? Yeah, no."

"You can't tell me what to do for my benefit!"

"PJ you and I both know that's a lie. But even still, if I can't, Sweety sure as hell can!"

"...you play dirty…"

"Gotta take care of you as much as you take care of me."

"Fair point. I should've expected as much." As PJ says this, Parappa playfully and lightly punches his stomach "Hey!..."

"Sorry, just makin a lil point is all!" He chuckles as he rears away from his friends grasp.

"Didn't have to be rude about it!"

"Think of it as payback for teasing me!"

"Yeesh, you were never petty enough to tease back. What provoked that in ya?"

"Beat's me! All I know is it felt right to do. Ease up and all that."

"That is probably the worst excuse you have ever said yet."

"Maybe so, but you'll never get a straight answer outta me!" He spins until he's facing the village "Now I gotta go find a haystack and hit it! Night man!" with that, he runs off.

PJ simply stares, dumbfoundead "To think someone can both grow up, and show how childish they really are in the same few sentences…" He can't help but break into a small laughing fit "Man...did you ever really change? It's like we're all still fifteen and you're JUST starting up as a rapper again." he shakes his head with a smile on his face "Not that I mind, but I can't help feeling that this is how the rest of our life will end up being...and you know? If that's the case, things won't be so bad! I really should ask Leo how you are in the future if he still remembers. It'll be nice to get some confirmation." He takes a look at the traps he and Parappa had set up "Oh man...I hope this works…" He walks off to the village to resume taking care of Sweety as well as to catch some shut eye himself.

* * *

("I SAID LEMME OUT OF HERE!...'") Ma-san continues to kick around to try and break out of a sack she's been put in.

("I'm sorry lass…")

("DETO!? THE HELL YOU FAT F-")

("I'm being forced to do this i'm afraid…")

("THE WORD NO EXISTS YOU HYPOCRITE!")

("Ah yes, say no and cost the lives of many innocent children. How easy it is to make a decision like that.") Ma-san doesn't reply, her fuse simply begins to burn a hole in the bag ("I have no other option…please forgive me...") Before her fuse can cause her to break free, she's then let out in front of Ur.

("Oof...urgh...oh...what a pleasant sight for sore eyes…")

("Nice to see you again as well you little...ragamuffin…")

("Ugh even your passive aggressive comments are old timey for my tastes…what do you want…")

("Many things really! Mainly your compliance to what I have in mind! Second off the three girls you ran off with.")

("Comply with you? I don't think so anymore...and as for the brats? I wouldn't tell you even if I knew.")

("Oh?...what do you mean by that?")

("Stubborn trio ran off once I got far enough away…")

("Well that makes things unfortunate...complications aside we still have you!")

("Lucky. Me.") Her fuse dies down ("What could you possibly want with me now.")

("Well my little dynamite on legs, it seems your intrusive pal has caused a bit of a forced encounter between us and the Mood Stones now.")

The recollection of Parappa's actions simply causes her to huff in anger as her fuse releases a puff of smoke, to which Ur notices.

("And I think you'd want to meet up with him again to air out your aggressions!")

("What aggressions…") More smoke comes out, this time much more hectic.

("Oh, I wouldn't know since I don't really know either of you well! But it's certain you want to...go talk to someone who overspoke with a certain topic-") Her flame flickers ("Overstepped his boundaries-") Her body turns reddish orange ("And all the while as he made a fool out of you. Be it intentional or not! But most likely so!") A spark lights up in her eyes, her fuse disintegrates as shes begins yelling in anger.

("GAAAAAAAAAAAAH! JUST REMEMBERING ALL THAT...FROM THAT STUPID MUTT...I JUST WANNA….JUST WANNA-!")

("Show him a piece of your mind?~") Ur holds out the two maces Ma-san had left behind, to which she immediately snatches out of his hands.

("All that and then some…") steam comes from the handles of the maces as she grabs them.

("Atta girl! Now I think it's best you come with us in the morning to meet him! Just wait back at our camp until we're ready to go!") Ma-san storms off angrily in said direction, each step she takes leaves an ashen footprint on the ground ("Mymy how heated!")

Deto walks up to Ur after witnessing all of that go down ("Using the lass's own temper to pollute her mind into following your way of thinking?! Yer a sick man Ur…")

("I didn't add anything that wasn't already there!") He chuckles ("This means that she is clearly from the Dino-Mights! Those fools were always so quick to go off at any little thing. And that girl is no different! Makes it easier to integrate her with us! And it would fill my heart with burning joy to see what havoc she can cause! Especially against her own 'friends'! Haha!~") Before Deto can speak up, little flame spirits fly up to him.

("Ey, ey! Listen up! We found out that the Mood Stone's new lackeys have begun secretly planning something!")

("Oh?...Do tell~")

* * *

The night was quickly over and the sky was soon filled with the burning false sun as it tried rising in the distance. It was earlier than what the natives usually awoke at, but that was necessary given what was needed to happen.

Parappa quietly snuck out of the hutt as to not wake up Matt. "Alright...now to go and check up on Lammy and Kat- Oof!...Sorry I wasn't watching where I was go- Katy? Well hey there you are!"

"Oh!...h-hey Parappa! You're up early!" _Please don't ask about the song…._

"Yeah...I had to wake up early cuz I had to tell you and Lammy something…see it's about the song."

 _Why me…_ "Oh yeah, me and Lammy where all on the idea of practicing it...buuuuut…" _come clean, there's no weaseling out of this._ "I decided to pick a different song!" _That's not a lie, but it's also not the truth...come on me…_

"Really? That's great to hear!"

"Yeah it- what now?"

"Yeah turns out the song I had in store...probably not the best idea for this situation...so I needed to come up with a new one. And that's why I'm here! To discuss what it could've been with you! But it seems you're just two steps ahead! Man guess it ain't so bad having you and PJ be like a second set of Parents after all!"

"A-Ahahahah! Yep! I thought the same and I already know what song it'll be!" _TELL HIM THE TRUTH YOU COWARD!_ "So since we all should know the song, I figured it'd be easy teaching it to Lammy, but we still needed some time to practice! So I came over here looking for you to tell you about it!" _I am literally the worst...whatever! He doesn't know my blunder and fate actually tossed me a save! Even though I really don't deserve it...but that aside! I guess since I'm already on autopilot in accepting the credit, might as well keep burning this bridge down…_ Katy whispers to Parappa what song he should sing to which a bright smile grows on his face.

"That's the PERFECT choice! Man you're pretty much seven steps ahead of me at this point!"

"Y-You're to kind!~..." _No kidding…_ "You'll have to remix the song just a teeny bit so it fits the setting better, but other than that, I was just doing my part to assure success!...h-hahaha...now if you excuse me, I have to wake up Lammy and get started."

"Carry on!" She quickly runs off the second he finishes saying that "Well she wasted no time...Expect nothing less from her!" He giggles as he walks off to find PJ.

The awaited time draws closer as the preparations come to a close. Katy's prediction of the song being easier for Lammy to learn was correct as she picked it up in no time flat, with some minor inconveniences still lingering thanks to last night, but regardless she is fully prepared now. PJ decides to scope around the traps one last time, but notices that the torches by the entrances are mysteriously gone. He swallows roughly, and begins fixing some things up. Parappa speaks with Mica and Dacite over what they're to do should there still be some Tempo members still standing and causing a commotion. This all goes down smoothly as they all begin the final step, as the battle soon starts with both sides entering from their respective corners.

"This is it." Parappa says as he grabs his microphone tightly, he looks back at the two girls who reply with a thumbs up, he gives his own thumbs up back as he pulls down the helmet's visor.

"Let's see how this plays out now…" PJ says as he looks at the newly arranged traps as well as giving Lammy and Katy a different area to be positioned at, be he hasn't been able to inform Parappa.

"Here goes nothing..." Katy says as she watches the Tempo's enter from their entrance, waiting for her opportunity to go out.

"H-Here we go…" Lammy says as she waits for all the Mood Stones to enter from their entrance before she goes out.

During this, Matt is still in the village along with Paula and the much more stable Sweety.

"I'm gonna get some air, being in a hut is rather sweltering...call me back if you need help alright?"

"Sure thing Matt, but I think Sweety's doing just fine."

"I am! Thanks for helping me...Sorry for the lying…'

"It's fine for us at least since you're doing fine now! But PJ might be a bit more knuckleheaded on the matter."

"That's for sure...where is PJ anyway?"

"He should be with Parappa over at the place where the kids are at, so I'll go get him!"

"W-Wait Matt!" Paula tries to stop Matt knowing that no one is actually over there.

"I'll be back quickly! Just wait here!" He storms off leaving her in the dust as she trips onto the ground.

"Oh this can't end well…"

"Why's that?" Sweety says as she glances over the panicking fox.

"Oh dear...wellllllll…" _This certainly took a turn for the worst..._

Matt manages to arrive at the child shelter rather quickly, but upon reaching the place, he stops in his tracks "That's odd...they should've started by now...why is it so quiet?..." He knocks on the door and is immediately greeted by a child.

"Hello!"

"Hey there! Uh...Parappa and PJ wouldn't happen to have started already right?"

"Started what?"

"Performing?..."

"Oh, they haven't done that. Because they're not even here! You sure they said they'd do that?"

"Yeah that's what they told me-" Gears start spinning in Matt's head as he recalls things Parappa told him, such as where the battle would be taking place "No." he glances over to the direction of the battlefield "No…" He can feel the word 'Sucker' being etched onto his forehead mentally as he quickly turns around and books it "NOOOOOO….." he heads off to get his armor.

* * *

"Ok...that's the last of them it seems...it's now or never!" Parappa runs out into the battlefield to give the signal and begin the plan, but he is immediately cut off by bumping into Ur.

("Hello there you small nuisance!")

"W-Wha- Y-You?!"

("Seems like my intel was right! You were planning something!")

"H-How do you know about that?!..."

("Never you mind that! All you need to know is that I know exactly what you're planning! Such as you hiding a trap right HERE!") He pushes aside a tree, but there is no tree ("WHAT?! Well there's still the two others who are helping you! Such as one hiding OVER THERE!") He throws a flaming weapon at a tree, it disintegrates, but there was nothing there either ("HOW?! THE INFORMATION THAT I OBTAINED WAS SUPPOSED TO BE COMPLETELY CORRECT!...") He looks at the small sprites in his hands who simply panic.

("B-But we heard and saw everything! T-They were there-") They don't get a chance to finish their pleas as Ur crushes them in his hands. As this happens, PJ watches as he's hidden up in a tree branch out of sight, chuckling to himself.

("You've made a fool out of me here...BUT I WILL HAVE THE LAST LA-")

"NOPE!" Matt dives through Ur's legs again, tipping him over, however.

("NOT THIS TIME!~") He falls over onto Matt with his weapon held out, Matt didn't have the time to get up off the ground to avoid the attack, and on panicked instinct, he simply closes his eyes. He opens them once he notices that nothing had happened and instead see's Parappa with his shield, holding back both the weapon and Ur's weight as they both press down on him.

"MATT...GET UP AND RUN...NOW!..." He struggles in place with holding everything up, but the sight triggers a bad memory in Matt's mind.

"P-Please...not again…"

"I CAN'T...KEEP HOLDING HIM UP...FOREVER YOU KNOW...HURRY UP AND MOVE…"

"No...not again…"

"IF ONLY ONE OF US CAN GET LUCKY HERE THEN I RATHER IT BE YOU!..."

"Lucky?..." The word simply triggers more bad memories into Matt's Psyche.

" _You were lucky to get out of that unharmed young man!"_

" _I don't...feel very lucky…"_

" _Oh? I know it must hurt to see your friend take the brunt of that building collapsing. But in the end he made it so that you all could be the lucky ones! That's something to be qualified as lucky. Being blessed with a friend who cares that much."_

" _But...i'm not lucky...i'm not...we all should have made it out ok…"_

" _Be thankful he made sure you did."_

Matt shakes in fear as he still does not get up.

"MATT...COME ON…" There is no reaction aside from Matt looking towards the ground, mumbling incomprehensible words "MATT...I'M SERIOUS!..." He only sees teardrops hit the grass "MATT!"

Matt balls his hands into fists as he begins yelling and slams his body against the shield, helping Parappa push Ur back, surprising both of them "I...WON'T...RUN...AGAIN!"

"Matt?!"

("W-WHAT IS THIS?!...")

"I'm not lucky…" He stomps his feet firmly into the ground "I'm NOT lucky." He begins adding more force into the shove as Ur's feet leave the ground "I'M...NOT LUCKY!..." Parappa stares at the fear, regret and conviction in Matt's face. He simply replies with his own yelling.

"BUT YOU ARE NOW!" With the combined adrenaline rush in the two of them, they fling Ur into the distance. He crashes in a tree, his weight and body flames cause it to collapse over him. Keeping him pinned.

("GAH…")

"W-We...did it...h-hahaha…"

"Matt where did that strength come from?!" Matt doesn't reply, he just collapses onto the ground unconscious. His face tear stained yet sporting a victorious smile "M-MATT!..." Mica and Dacite run up to Matt's side and note that he is fine. Just passed out from an emotional overflow.

"He'll be ok! He just overworked himself! At least he fainted AFTER he saved you!"

"Yeah…"

"We'll take him back to our village to rest! Now hurry and get to it mister! The fight's gonna get worse if it carries on!"

"R-Right!" The duo pick up Matt and carry him off as Parappa runs into the battlefield "Guess it's just me left to disarm everyone else…" He takes a steady breath and furrows his brow "But i've never been a quitter. All I gotta do is keep on believing!" He triggers the stone traps that launch projectiles through the remaining Tempo's weapons, destroying them upon impact. Parappa notices that the trap was not in the same location as prior, but decides to shrug it off. After this, some of them immediately toss their arms up as they surrender. The other simply try to attack Parappa, who outmaneuvers them as he leads them into the line of the battering ram traps "PJ! NOW!" but nothing happens. Parappa looks up to notice that the traps had move. "U-Uh oh…" He keeps on running trying to keep out of their grab range. The stone traps break more and more weapons, but there are fewer Tempo's who choose to surrender as the stay in a mob chasing him "These aren't where we originally put the weapon breaking traps...what the heck?!..." Suddenly multiple battering rams begin flying down and knocking over the waves of Tempo's leaving only a handful left, followed with a subtle sigh of relief from PJ. Half of them flat out surrendered on the spot while the other half began running off to deal with others instead.

"Oh no you don't!" Parappa follows the runners and begins tripping the lot onto the ground until all that's left on their feet are those who lost their fighting moxie.

"Dear friend what's with this you've done?! You've...immobilized them all?..." Pallet says as he stares at the disorganized Tempo's.

"There's a reason for this Sir! And you'll see right now!" Parappa stands in the center of the field and turns on the microphone. The feedback noise is the signal for the girls to begin.

"Music?..."

"It's more than just that Sir!" As the sound rises, Parappa begins.

" _EY ALL WHO CAN HEAR MY VOICE!_

 _You know who you are! Why ya fightin, why ya hatin?_

 _There's something else y'all could be doin that'd be just elatin!"_ He actually manages to get their attention as they all begin looking towards him.

" _Yo yo y'all! I'm wondering how y'all are feeling right about now!_

 _Bet you all miss the feeling of happiness._

 _Well this here young hero from zero should be able to show you._

 _That it's not hard to believe in the better. I know all you can to!"_

Both groups simply look at one another then back towards Parappa, completely curious by the offer he's making within his song. At this point the guitar and bass begin picking up as the speakers begin echoing Katy's voice.

" _All we need is music, runnin round the city everydaaaaay!~ You got to stop and listen to the beat, move your funky feet! Hooo-ooooaah yes!"_

" _Representin' one time for your mind!"_ Lammy quickly joins in as the back up vocal for both her and Parappa.

"All of us really just wanna have some fun, I'm so happy!"

" _I'm so happy!"_

"Just fun and games, no fightin and gang names!

Positive vibes that vibe all the same! Seeing all the people who wanna change their ways~ Wanna just play with the kids who want to play this instant, but it's hard to do when everyone's so militant!" Both groups begin to feel the remorse of his words as they recall that the young are forced to bear all this back and forth fighting. As this happens the Mood Stones begin helping the toppled over Tempo Tantrums back up.

"They can't stay out late, don't wanna make the big man mad. Nothing like the days of my past when we were all so glad!

Saturday morning I was up at 6 AM, so I can watch JET BABY with all of my friends! Katy, Sunny, PJ who's my DJ. Ma-san, Matt, Paula and Lammy who rock out like a freeway!

Look out for each other when we go out to play,

whether a concert, or on the school grounds,

or under a shady tree soda pop cooling down.~"

" _That's my friends!"_

"Friendships can't be dismissed, I gotta redeem, relieve, receive and believe!

So I, gotta believe in this, friends till the end, but not like Chucky, here we give ya a free show! count yourselves lucky!~"

" _ **Having fun!"**_ the three begin singing together.

"We havin fun, it's all about having fun!"

" _ **With the funk!"**_

" _Hey, all we need is fun!"_

" _ **Having fun!"**_

"Having fun with the funk, the fun with the funk! "

" _ **With the funk!"**_

" _Wooooo-ooohooooooo!...~"_

" _ **Having fun!"**_

"We havin fun all about havin fun!"

" _ **With the funk!"**_

" _With the funk, you know we gotta keep it going!~"_

" _ **Having fun!"**_

" _Yeah, cuz_ _we_ _**having fun!**_ "

"With the funk. With the funk! With the funk!"

" _All we need is music, runnin round the city-"_

"Uh-huh.~"

" _Everydaaaaaay!"_

" _That's right"_

" _Come on and have some fun with me, we gotta have some fun here today cuz that's all we gonna have!"_

"Hoo!"

" _All we need is music, come on now, all we need is music.~"_

" _Yeah!"_

" _Come on now, all we need is music, we gotta move it, move it, yeaaaah. Hoooo-ooooh~"_

"Let's take a walk down memory lane, I'll break it down so you can remember my name, it's the P-"

" _P!"_

"A-"

" _A!"_

"R A, double P A, th reachin for the stars!"

" _ **Hoo!"**_ The two groups who were listening, began motioning along with the rhythm from instinct alone, they weren't trying to harm each other at all, rather dance with one another.

"I scream, you scream, we all scream for _**ice scream**_ , me and the MilkCan's _**always scream for ice cream!**_

A nice dream turn reality, that made me feel like Superman, was seeing MilkCan become a super band!"

" _Hooo!"_

"Anything can happen, if ya just believe!~"

" _All we need is a little bit, a little bit something! A little, a little fun to keep us going, all day, cuz we are havin, havin, havin fuuuu-un! Come on everybody sing!"_

" _ **Having fun!")**_ Both groups now start to sing along with the trio.

"A-hah, we having fun gettin down with the funk!"

" _ **With the funk!")**_

"We having fun getting down with the funk!"

" _ **Having fun!")**_

"It's all about fun, it's all about fun!"

" _ **With the funk!")**_

"We got the funk, you know we got the funk!~"

" _All we need is music, runnin round the city everydaaaaaay!~"_

"Yeah~"

" _Come on and have some fun with me, we gotta have some fun here today cuz that all we gonna have!~"_

"Hoo!"

" _All we need is music…."_

"Practice makes perfect."

" _Uh-huh~"_

"Anything you want in this world, you gotta earn it!"

" _That's right!"_

"Don't expect it, if you don't deserve it!"

" _Come on now, all we need is music, yeaaaaa-ah!"_

" _ **Hoo!")**_

"Here we taught a lesson, you need to try and learn it! Stop fightin, Stop yellin and keep away from hatin by bein all stealthy!

Hard work is the best way to get wealthy.

Flint and fire, stop making things all dire,

Hand and hand, and face to face, just dance as the true desire!

Pops taught me always a strive, Mom's taught me to give thanks for my life! Keep my head high, never do drugs never tell lie and check to make sure I zipped up my fly!" Every gives a quick laugh at the last line Parappa sings.  
 _  
_" _Yeah!"_

"Let's not forget, give a quick recap!

Sing it all with me, and we'll call that a wrap!

I gotta redeem, relieve, receive and believe!

But not just me, y'all can follow my words and you to can achieve!" The conjoined group roars with replies that they knew on instinct and heart alone.

" _ **We gotta do what?!")**_

"You gotta REDEEM!"

" _ **You sure about that?")**_

"You gotta RELIEVE!"

" _ **We gotta do WHAT?!")**_

"You gotta RECEIVE!"

" _ **But most importantly?")**_

"YOU GOTTA BELIEVE!~" Upon uttering these final words, everyone who was there could swear they could feel a shockwave, or rather an intangible force, that struck all of them. It wasn't painful or anything bad. No. Instead they all felt...unchained. They looked towards one another not as enemies, but not as friends either just yet. They just stared at one another as if things could be different "Thank you everybody! I hope you all enjoyed this little eye opener! And I also hope you lot realized that fighting each other over music and using it as an excuse to hate and fight one another for other reasons as well...well it ain't right. All you need is music as the ties that bind! Y'all were stubborn enough to FIGHT over it when clearly you all had the biggest thing in common!" They all stare at him before staring at each other once more. As if they were all making an internal decision. With the song fully done however, the amps and speakers collapse into pieces, their job fulfilled.

Before Parappa can speak up again. Ur yells as he storms forth to the middle of the field to meet up with Parappa, but stops a good distance away from him ("YOU!...YOU INFERNAL HOUND...YOU RUINED ALL MY WORK!...") He would've continued his raging banter were it not for a noise in the distance causing his scowling face to turn into a sly grin ("Ah but what does it matter...in the end...I will still have the last laugh!")

"Wha?..." Parappa's ears pick up something approaching, and just like that. A burning red blur zooms across the battlefield ko-ing Tempo and Mood alike. Everyone panics when they assume they're the next target, but they all stop when a loud CLANG is heard. Upon calming down, the sight in the middle is now Parappa holding his shield up to block a string of repeated strikes from Ma-san "M-Ma-san AGAIN?!"

("DON'T EVEN TRY TALKING, **MUTT**!") Parappa barely glances over and see's fumes escaping from Ma-sans fur as well as small sparks emitting from everywhere around her, the heat nearly unbearable to be next to, especially in heavy metal armor.

"Why not?...Clearly you're rather...upset for lack of a better word...and I want to fix it!..."

("FIX **THIS**!") The speed and strength of her strikes increases, the shield Parappa is holding is beginning to crack from the pressure.

Lammy and Katy try to sneak around everyone to near the two close and meet up with PJ who jumps down from the tree he was hiding in, stopping the two.

"PJ what the hell?!"

"You really don't wanna get in between that…"

"B-But we have to s-stop the fight!"

"You do that and I'm sure Ma-san will cave your skulls in… Let Parappa fix this!"

Katy stampers in place before sighing "He's right...Parappa is kind of the reason this is happening to begin with...if anyone can stop it it'll be him, himself…"

"K-Katy you CAN'T b-be serious!...Ma-san could s-seriously injure him! And o-once she calms down and s-sees what she did. S-She'll go ballistic on h-herself next!...I wanna stop b-both of them f-from any harm!"

"You think I don't?!...But right now...as much as I don't want to...we...have to listen to PJ and put our faith in Parappa's next actions…"

"Ohhh...ooooohhh…" She clutches her stomach in pain, unable to continue watching.

The strikes don't stop as Parappa refuses to do anything in retaliation aside from talking "Ma-san! T-This is what I was talking about! Y-You're letting your emotions get the better of you like I did!...You're gonna regret this if you keep going!..."

("ARGHHHH! **ENOUGH WITH THAT!** ") She causes more cracks to appear in his shield (" **WHAT I DO IS NONE OF YOUR CONCERN! NOW WHY AREN'T YOU FIGHTING BACK?! DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL?! THINK YOU'RE BEING CHIVALROUS FOR NOT DOING ANYTHING BACK?** ") The strikes keep on, but still no retaliation (" **YOU'RE AN IDIOT! A FOOL! I'M NOT AN OVERLY EMOTIONAL SPONGE THAT JUST TAKES A BEATING LIKE YOU! I'M NOT SOME DYSFUNCTIONAL MESS WHO** **JUST LET THINGS HAPPEN IF IT BENEFITS ANOTHER AND NOT ME IN THE END, ESPECIALLY IF IT COSTS ME MORE TO DO SO! JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!** ") Parappa flinches upon hearing this, he soon caught on that this is just Ma-san's way of venting out her own pain from the accident. Although he would've preferred less aggression, this was the Ma-san way, so he dealt and respected it accordingly. This however just served to make her much more angry, causing her to also be more vocal (" **DO SOMETHING YOU STUBBORN MUTT! DO YOU GET JOY FROM THIS?!** ") This started to get Parappa angry as well. _Why even get angry over the way I choose to handle things?...Is she also upset over my lack of proper self care?... or is she just feeling guilty…?_

(" **STOP BEING PASSIVE...THIS IS WHY YOUR SORRY EXCUSE OF GIRLFRIEND LEFT YOU!** ") Katy, PJ and Lammy all flinch as they hear Ma-san shout that out.

"Ooooooh...that was probably the worst thing she could have said…"

"Exponentially so…"

"N-No kidding…"

Parappa's eyes widen, and0 in an autopilot motion, flicks his shield upwards knocking Ma-san over. This launches the maces that were in her hands away. One of them falls towards him as he catches it midair within his grasp, sizzling in his hands, he then holds it to her as she tries to sit up rubbing her head. ("Feh...finally...whatever...just do it…")

Parappa sighs as he puts the mace down "You know feeling guilty is one thing, but provoking me into striking you just so you feel like it's an even trade off for all that I did to keep you all safe...that's not ok…"

Ma-san huffs angrily as she looks off to the side, not wanting to look at him in the slightest ("I don't need you treating me like a fool for how I want things handled…") she gets up, crosses her arms and looks away ("It's not fair…I can't even have this as a means of cementing my thoughts…") Parappa looks at the grass around her feet. Aside from the smoke emanating from the sizzling ground thanks to her heated state, there are also teardrops by them. Ma-san was never one to cry, and to see her do so right now was excruciatingly baffling.

"Why even go through this?"

("I don't know...Those kids got me thinking about stuff...and I guess I felt it wasn't fair for you to do all that and get nothing out of it...I couldn't understand it...and you just shrug it off and feel alright as usual...that irked me...I don't count us helping you get out of that state as a means of payback as it was more so a motivational boost if anything...But you never asked for anything...never opted to do anything...in favor of it being fair...you just let it be...and would do so again should it ever even happen again…")

Parappa lifts up the visor on the helmet "What I got out of it was knowing that the people I care for got to get out of it pain free!"

("And what about you?!")

"I guess it made it worth it? Didn't expect it to have such an emotional impact on you all to a point that I made you all feel so...helpless...then again I also didn't expect to...well you know...nearly kick the bucket…" He tries to laugh, even awkwardly would've been something, but he can't muster out anything "I just know that I'd keep on making sure you lot get to live out your days alright...heck I'd do that for the world if I could, but I'm just one guy."

("THINK OF THE POSITION YOU'D CONSTANTLY BE PUTTING YOURSELF IN?!")

"If it makes everyone end up safe and happy, I'd do it." Every Tempo tantrum and Mood Stone member that hadn't been knocked out simply listens on as well, but all this does is trigger Ma-san anger again.

She angrily grunts as she turns around to face him, she however is shocked as she sees him handing the mace he had back to her. She quickly grabs it and points it to him ("I should beat you over the head with this right here and now…I want to make you feel the pain you made me feel just watching this all go down...I'm not like the others who know how to vent or express with this kind of thing...I refuse to let things get the better of me...but this...it just wasn't anything like the other things I could easily bottle up...this was different and it wasn't fair...I hated it...it hurt...and now I want you to know what that was like...")

He tosses the shield aside and smiles at her before speaking up ("Would that make you happy?") The sentence just internally breaks her as the mace simply falls apart in her hands from her squeezing it to tightly. She falls onto one knee as she begins bawling like a baby. Parappa walks up to her and kneels down, holding out a hand ("Don't cry...I can't really apologize for this as I don't feel like I even have the right to? But I still wanna make up for what I ended up causing…")

Ma-san closes her eyes, not wanting to look at him or hear him.

Parappa sighs, but tries again "I...don't really know if I can make up for this, but can't you at the very least let me try? It really hurts me seeing you cry...you never do that! So seeing you do so now is just...heartbreaking...at least let me help you stop that…"

Ma-san looks up to him, after a small air of silence, she reaches out to grab his hand. However.

("I'VE HAD **ENOUGH** OF MY PLANS FALLING AT THE SEAMS!") Ur throws Ma-sans other mace that had fallen to him, the target wasn't Parappa however, he aimed it at Ma-san.

"WATCH OUT!..." Parappa grabs her hand and tosses her behind him as he takes the impact head on, it knocking off his helmet in the process "GAH…"

("PARAPPA…!")

"PARAPPA!" the trio say as they try to run up to the duo

Ur takes the moment to dash across the field to strike him down as he's defenseless ("YOUR WAYS **END** HERE!") He raises his guitar made blade and slashes down towards the knocked down Parappa, who can barely react due to still being dazed, only manages to stand up. Things start going into slow motion for the gang as all of them close their eyes, afraid of what would happen next, afraid of what they would end up seeing. Would history really be so cruel as to repeat with the bad ending? They didn't know, all that was known was simply the sound of a blade piercing metal.

 _The same...mistake?...no…_

 _Luck works in mysterious ways…_


	13. Lose a friend, Make a friend

As the worst assumed conclusion comes and goes with the wind, everyone opens their eyes to see Matt holding Parappa's shield to take the impact of Ur's desperation. The shield breaks sending Matt backwards and toppling over Parappa and Ma-san while Ur himself stumbles backwards from it.

"Ow…h-haha...I made it…"

Parappa lifts him off of them and immediately shouts in his ear "I have several questions on how you got here! You were OUT COLD!...But the first instinct you have during the moment you apparently woke up at was to come BACK?!"

"Can't I just get a simple 'thank you for saving my life.'?..." Matt smiles weakly at Parappa, clearly emotionally exhausted for throwing himself on the line to save him twice so soon after one another. Nearly dying on both occasions as well.

"Thanks for saving my life man...again!...Once we get out of here I owe you big time. You want something, you name it."

"I'll...be sure to keep...that in mind...oh dear...everything's going black again…" Matt faints once again simply prompting Parappa to shake him from worry once more until he forces a tired groan from him.

"At least he's still ok…phew, oh man…"

("But we're not out of the boiling water yet man…") Ma-san looks at Ur who regains his composure.

("I SEVERELY HATE HOW PERSISTENT YOU DAMNABLE CANINES ARE…") He walks up again with his weapon raised again ("AND YOU!...YOU VERMIN RAT! HOW DOES ONE WHO WAS BORN FOLLOWING THIS WAY OF LIFE FAIL SO HEAVILY AT IT?!")

("Speak for yourself...I'm nothing like you…")

("A fact I will keep with me while I correct that damn mistake...and now nothing more...WILL INTERFERE!") Before he can swing again, he is grabbed by Deto who try to hold him back.

("The only damn mistake there is here is yer constant muddling of our group we formed! When our old leader burnt out. You immediately took over and undid all the good he did! Yer nothing more than the very same monsters we ran from! A bleeding lad who tried to overtake it all! And for what?!")

("FOR US TO EARN WHAT WE DESERVE! THERE IS NO PLACE...FOR SOFT SHELLED FOOLS IN A DESTRUCTIVE GROUP OF FLAMES!") He launches Deto onto his back.

("OOF…")

Parappa recalls what bunsen said to him the previous night before last and immediately shouts at Ur ("FIRE DOESN'T HAVE TO DESTROY!")

("Fire also doesn't have to listen. For all it needs to do is grow and supersede...and then IMPEDE!") Once again he is stopped from hitting Parappa by three small children latching onto him ("OH FOR THE LOVE OF CINDERS, MUST EVERYTHING GO WRONG FOR ME?!")

Ma-san notices who the three grabbing Ur are ("ENYA! ARATI! VESTA! GET AWAY!")

The three sisters refuse to budge as they try to strip Ur from his weapons, but to no avail as he flings off Vesta and Arati ("I have had **ENOUGH!** ") he grabs Enya right off his arm and tosses her below him ("YOU! Out of everyone who dare oppose the true ideals, you three shouldn't bother opposing! You were all BORN into this role! THERE IS NOTHING FOR US BUT WARRING AND OVERWHELMING!")

Enya glares at Ur before retorting ("You're wrong! There was more to us! Before dad died, he knew that and did his best to get us to get along and play music with everyone! But then the war got worse and he ended up passing away from it...then you took over...and all you did was tell us that all we were good for is destroying...and that was the biggest lie ever! People CAN care for us just like we CAN care for them! Like the furry Mood Stone over there said! Fire doesn't have to destroy! We can burn brightly with others! Not burn them!")

("Are those your real thoughts on the matter then?...")

("YES! And they'll NEVER change!")

("I see...then YOU HAVE NO PURPOSE BREATHING ANYMORE!") He slashes at Enya.

("ENYA MOVE!...")

("LITTLE SISTER!")

("YOU BRAT, MOVE!") Ma-san tried desperately to move to her, but to no avail. Everything felt as if it began fading to black. All that's heard is the screams of children as the blade hits. However. The blade did not hit it's intended mark. On the receiving end of Ur's blade laid Dacite who collapsed backwards on Enya, a huge slash wiping away half her body.

"D-DACITE!..." Parappa's fear disintegrates as it turns to pure fury, but before he can act on it…

("What is this…") Ur stares at the sickening sight before him.

"You're...a real big jerk...ya know that...you walking angry candle…you..." Dacite was barely there, her words felt hollow. It was a miracle she was even talking at all! "Don't...know if you...even understand me...but I don't care!...I...did my job...as a junior knight...I know...you can understand...at...least that…"

("N-No...new friend Dacite...why…")

("New friend?! You are definitely delusional if you thought THAT! But worry not, YOU'LL JOIN HER- AUGH….") Another blade appears, but this one imbeds itself into Ur's arm. It was Deto's axe ("DETO! YOU'RE NEXT YOU MISERABLE PILE OF-") He gets cut off by another Tempo smashing his face in with his fist to which stumbles back into a grapple of another Tempo ("WHAT ARE YOU IMBECILES DOING?!")

("Young Enya was right…") The Tempo who was currently holding him spoke, angering Ur.

("RIGHT?! IN WHAT REGARDS?!")

("The Mood Stone child saved her from your ineptitude…") The one who hooked him adds on.

("THIS IS RIDICULOUS!")

("You are correct there...the furry one named Parappa and young Enya taught us so...now...we fix it…") All the Tempo's begin gathering around Ur as he begins screaming in agony as more and more pile on. Eventually Ur manages to yell out one final verse.

("YOU THINK THIS CHANGES ANYTHING?! THIS WILL ALL COME BACK AGAINST ALL OF YOU! AND I WILL HAVE THE LAST LAUGH IN THE END!...") The Tempo's disperse from one another, all that was left on the ground before them was Ur's armor and blade in pieces. Ur himself was gruesomely...extinguished to put it mildly as all the laid there was a pile of ashes.

("Serves ya right ya miserable pile of ash…") Deto says as he plucks his axe from a scrap of leftover armor.

Pallet rushes to Dacites side with the remaining conscious Mood Stones as everyone else regroups around Parappa, who looks over at Dacite's direction. They all try to speak to him, but he can't hear any of them. He stays out of it until Ma-san speaks up to him.

("When you said you were worried for me and didn't want me to burn out...you meant...something like...that huh?...") She points to Ur's ashes.

"Not the way i'd put it...but yeah...in the long run...something like that I guess…"

("...I'll...work on it...will you help?...")

"You didn't even need to ask…" He tries to give her a smile, but he just can't find the strength.

("The kids still speaking you know...don't know for how much longer...so...you might wanna...you know...say something.")

"...yeah…" Parappa forces his body to move over to the dying Dacite as Enya and her sisters as well as Mica stand by her side crying alongside Pallet.

"Things were never supposed to end like this...even for the young ones…"

"This is what I tried to avoid…"

"So did we new friend...but as it turns out...the more we tried to prevent something...the more we ended up causing it…" Pallet lifts his helmets visor to wipe away a tear "I blame myself for this."

"Sir this wasn't your fault!"

"I know that much. But as the head of this group...as well as the one who swore to protect the children at all costs from the wishes of their slain parents...I have failed in both regards…" He is alerted when someone puts their hand on his shoulder, it was Deto.

("Ok now let's see if I got this right...Ahem…") "Earth to walking brick wall. Can you understand me properly?"

"Yes...what do you need?"

"Ah good, was afraid the secret practice of trying to speak like the rest of you was all for nothing...I can understand you all just fine, but speaking it was a bit of a leap. But that's not the point. Look lad, as a leader. One must always come to terms with the fact that there will be things out of one's control. And while it is on kilter for a leader to follow through with such feelings, they must also learn that they just can't take the blame for it. It isn't of sane mind and will lead you down the same road as...him…" He motions over to Ur's ashes.

"With all due respect, I must disagr-"

"Aw cork it ya ninny! With all due respect, **I** must disagree with your over sentimentality. I know that's how you lot are, but that just ain't a right way of going about things. Do you think THEY would have faulted you?..." This time he motions to the children, who simply look at Pallet.

"...Very well…"

"Good...Eugh…" ("Oh that's to much strain on the throat…")

(" You don't even have a mouth!...how can you have a throat?!") Ma-san adds on.

("Never you mind that lass!") He gives a reassuring slap on Pallet's back.

"I'll think it over...for now...young one...will you forgive me…"

"Sir...you said...it's the way of the knight...to do what they can...to protect good people...even if they...don't come out of it alive…"

"But not for a child…"

"I'm not a child...i'm a knight~..."

"Yes...yes you are…friend I think it's best that you take over speaking...I need not say anymore..."

"Thank you sir…" Parappa walks up to her and he simply just stares at her...destroyed state.

"Where's your...smile mister…"

"I can't really smile here…"

"Why not?...it's...all over...you kept...your promised~...we finally stopped fighting…"

"But I failed my promise on keeping you safe…I let my friend down..."

"Haha...about that...Mister Matt told us about...what...happened to you when...he came to...we didn't wanna...make it harder for you...so...we wanted...to do what he did!...And what you said...to the miss over...there!..." She points to Ma-san with her remaining hand "You said...you'd protect everyone...if ya could...So...I wanted to be...the same!...Protect you...them." She points to the remainder of Parappa's friends "Everyone!...even my new friends in the Tempo's...haha...and I did it!...that's a kept promise to me~..." She weakly drops her hand "I'm tired...I wanna close my eyes...but not yet...can you come closer mister?...and you to miss?..." She weakly waves for Parappa and Ma-san to walk closer to her.

"Of course!...W-What do you need?..."

"Sure thing kid...I owe that much after what I helped caused…"

"Haha...both of you need to stop...feeling bad…" As Parappa gets near, she waves for him to bend over. Once he does she puts a finger on his beanie "Can you...put our symbol...on your hat to?...Pretty please?...For me?...Sir Pallet can tell you...what it is…"

"Of course!...I'd love to do that."

She then motions Ma-san to bend over to her, once she does, she calls over Mica "Hey...can you...give her...the...rose?...you know the one...the one my mama left me…" Mica doesn't hesitate as she pulls out a crystalized rose from a pocket like part of her armor and hands it to Ma-san.

"W-Whoa whoa whoa. Your mother gave that to you? I can't just take it!..."

"Please?...let me...explain first...The rose is special...Mama said...to give it to...those who need a little help...getting by...and once...you've...finally achieved that target mark...you hand it...to the next person...no matter who they are…" She grabs it out of her hand and nestles it by Ma-sans ear "I saw you crying to...and mister...Parappa said it even broke his heart...so...I guess you don't...do that often...so...take it...and...don't cry...anymore please…"

"...sure thing kiddo."

"Thank...you~..." Dacites final action was simply grabbing Enya's arm and writing out letters until Enya got what she was trying to say.

("Thank you...for being my friend...and showing me...that we could get along after all…") The sentence simply gets Enya crying, to which Dacite uses the last of her strength to wipe the tears away.

"I'm...really...sleepy...Mama's...calling me...hehe...thank you for...helping us Mister Parappa~..." her crystal eyes lose what little luster they had left as her remaining hand limps onto the ground. No one says anything else. They just simply cry. And they kept crying even as they sent of the body to it's final resting place. It was just so bewildering a thing to see for all the children of both groups, as well as for Parappa and the rest, none of them ever grew up in the troubled times of these groups, and to be put into it was such an experience that they would rather not repeat. Parappa simply looked to the ground, as Ma-san simply looked to the sky, both refused to shed anymore tears to honor her words at least for now. Lammy and Katy cry whilst trying to console each other. PJ simply stood stoic as he usually did. He was known to rarely emote, but that didn't stop a single tear from escaping his eye. Sweety and Paula simply stared in disbelief as to what happened while they were away. Matt sat on the ground, upset. He knows that they were inspired by what his own actions, so he feels like he caused it, but stops once Parappa fills him in on what she had said. Once the body is sealed away, both Deto and Pallet speak between themselves.

"Young Dacite will be the last thing to remain here...I feel terrible that I couldn't take her back...but...she would want to stay among the ground with her fallen comrades…"

"It is always such a terrible fate when young ones die...but you have to look on. Fer her sake lad. Now come on it's time to inform everyone."

"You are right my portly new friend." They both gather the attention of everyone "Excuse me one and all. From this moment forward. I, Sir Palletten, as well as the Tempo Tantrums new leader. Sir Detonation. Here by have come with the news that should summon some form of joy from both factions. We are no longer to war betweenst one another."

("We are now free from the horrible ways of Ur...and like the young doggo over there sung about. We can get along for many things. Especially for what we all started this damn thing in the first place. Our love of music.") Both factions cheer with one another.

"And with that said. I'm sure you know what that all means."

("We are together on this. And what do we all want to do?")

" **GO HOME!")** both groups shout. Once they do however. Everyone is enveloped in a glowing white light as they begin being swept off the ground.

"W-Whoa!..." Parappa fumbles in the air.

"This is not how I envisioned the way back to work…" PJ says as he grabs Matt and Sweety with in his arms to both protect them, but also from fear of what would happen to himself.

The MilkCan trio simply scream as they grab onto one another.

"It's times like these where I wish I still wore shorts under my skirts…" Paula says as she tries to hold her skirt down.

They all rise higher as the light becomes too bright to witness. Once the light dissipates, they all find themselves outside the pond.

"WE'RE BACK!" The eight all should in unison.

"And not just us!" Parappa points to all the others who also got taken back.

"This feels so strange...the air feels so different...it really has been decades…" Pallet looks towards what little sky he can see through the openings in the trees.

("Hoho boy...I wonder how much things have changed...this was just a little village off the side that housed this pond...now it's a town! How marvelous is that…")

"You know it just occurred to me...the town's gonna freak when they see walking terracotta knights and living fire." Parappa says as he gives the situation a bit more thought.

("Ya think? Well...what do you all wanna do?")

("Well as for me lass...I think I'm disbanding this group...I rather just have everyone achieve better things! But I won't disband unless I get the ok with everyone.") The rest of the tempo's think it over and all nod in agreement, wanting to bury the past as well ("Then it's settled! The Tempo's are no more!...now we just need to find a way to integrate into this new life…")

"What about you Sir? What will you do?"

"What we will do you say?...hm...I think we will just travel the world. Honestly a bustling life like this is by no means a life for us. Not one bit!"

Parappa frowns "I guess that's true given how...to yourselves you guys tend to be…" He whines like a puppy "But it would've been nice having you guys here…you all seem so great!"

"Believe me new friend! I would love nothing more...it's just...our way of living life."

"I understand. Promise you all will take care and TRY not to get into another big fight!"

"HAHA! Oh worry yourselves not! This time we plan to be as hidden as can be!...but uh...here." He hands Parappa a little bit of broken armor, he knows who this belonged to, with the Mood Stone's insignia on it "For what it's worth, as per Dacites request and my own. You are a Mood Stone in your own right! And should you ever need help, don't be afraid to try and ask around for us. We'll be there when you really need it! Troublesome or not!" Parappa grabs the symbol and smiles.

"Thank you sir!"

"Don't thank me, it's what I can do. And then some! I owe you the world my friend." He removes his helmet. His head is supremely translucent that it reflects every source of light, preventing his face from being seen. What is seen however, is his long flowing blonde hair, which reminds Parappa of his own hair "Nobleman Parappa. As Dacite said, the way of the knight is to be there for good people. And there's no one better than that textbook definition except for you and your friends. I would die for you if need be."

"I wouldn't go that far! I rather have you kicking for as long as you can!"

"As would I. And with that said, we will all be taking our leave!...Parappa." He kneels down "I hope you shine like the most brilliant diamond in existence!"

"I'll do my best!"

"Men!"

"SIR!"

"Move out!" The Mood Stones all march out, they don't request for assistance since they knew the way by heart.

Deto walks up to Parappa ("Uh...Lad? Mind lending me an ear?")

("Sure what's up!")

("By no means do we deserve the honor...but...would you also mind...havin our symbol on that noggin of yours?") He hands him a piece of Ur's old armor that has their insignia on it ("Though the Tempo's of old are now done with. We are still people trying to start anew...and well...we want to undo and forget so much travesty we helped caused thanks to...you know who...And it's thanks to you that EVERYONE got to see that to! It was something I've been pushing for since the day we arrived in that world! But again...it's all up to you.")

("Of course I'd add you guys on it! You guys weren't intentionally bad...just led astray...same like all the others. But not anymore!")

("Thank ya laddie. You'd be an honorary Tempo if we still were a group! But what I can offer you is that, If you have a problem, just call any of us! We'd all be glad to help ya! Isn't that right you ragged lot?") The group behind all nod and cheer ("See?")

("I do see! Thank you Mister Deto!")

Deto laughs until he goes back to thinking ("Oh boy...what will I do for work now...I can put the kids in an orphanage...they'll find better homes that way...but what about the rest of us?...I don't think there is need for a lumberjack anymore…or anyone with a love for country music...or music material makin in general...")

Lammy walks up to Deto "U-Uh excuse m-me! Mister D-Deto was it?..."

("Yes? What can I do for you Lassie?")

"I t-think I know a p-place that'd be p-perfect for you!..."

("Oh do ya?")

"Y-Yeah! As both a l-lumberjack and i-instrument maker!"

("Oh now that's loverly! Mind taking me there?")

"O-Of course!"

("Thank ya lassie! But first I still need to help the rest of them find a suitable working state…")

Katy walks up to the two of them "Hey mister. You're all made of fire right?"

("The equivalent of Magma! And we don't set things on fire either! Unless we want to, but of course we don't! Very handy controlling!")

"And you're all...like...really strong correct?"

("Though we topple like turtles, it's a worthwhile tradeoff to our notable strength! There ain't nothing these fellows can't do when it comes to strength! Why i'd go so far as to say that they can even hold up an entire building!")

"Is that so…" Katy smiles "I know the perfect job for the rest of them!"

("Ohohohoh! You two girlies are lifesavers!") While Lammy and Katy keep on talking with Deto. Paula and Ma-san walk up to each other.

"Hey…"

("Hey…")

"Sooooo…"

("So…")

The awkward air between them grows to a point where it's too much to bear until they both just blurt out "I'M SORRY!..." before bawling and hugging each other.

"Took em long enough."

"Normally I'd get upset at you for being so rude dear, but I'll let it slide just this once."

"Is it because I'm right this time?"

"And now i'm not letting it slide anymore." She flicks his forehead.

"Ow!...ok fine yeah...I deserved that…" PJ rubs his forehead before smiling "Glad you're feeling better again."

"I'm glad to." she smiles warmly at him before kissing him quickly on the cheek.

Parappa looks around and then decides to walk up to Matt who simply sits by the ponds edge "Yo man, what's up?..."

"Nothin much. Just thinking."

"About?"

"A whole lot of stuff...like...for starters...I feel great that I actually did something instead of run away! And saved you! Twice! But then I'm also feeling upset because...I ended up motivating Dacite into doing the same...and she wasn't as lucky as me…"

"But she was happy with the outcome nonetheless...you know that as much as I do."

"I do. But that doesn't mean it stops me from feeling awful with myself."

"Yeah I know what you mean…" He sits next to Matt. Matt simply looks over and gives a tired chuckle.

"I bet you do. This is how you've been feeling isn't it?"

"Yep."

"Haha...thought so. Man it suuuuuuuuuuuuucks…how do you deal with it?" Parappa simply pats his back as he hooks him into a one armed hug and points to the rest of their friends.

"This is how."

"H-Hehe...Man come on...I just stopped crying~..."

"Sorry, not sorry~..." Parappa wipes his own tears away before looking up to him "Made your mind up of what you want me to do for you? As a way of making things up to you?"

"Yeah. Three things. First is play a one v one game of Basketball, Soccer and Football with me!"

"Pffft, what? Wanna wipe the floor with me do ya?~"

"Shuuuuush. Second is to talk to Chop Chop Master Onion and getting him to hire me to...I feel bad for running off and leaving you there."

"I'll try! Paula got herself a job there to!"

"Oh did she? Hahah. That's great, makes things even more easier now don't it?"

"You're telling me! Now what's the third thing?"

"...Next time something like this happens...let me help alright?...Don't lie to me and leave me in the dark…"

"...I'm sorry…"

"Nah don't be, I know why you did it...so I should be the one apologizing...I shouldn't have tried to stop you. Helping others is just the kind of person you are! It was wrong of me to try and stop that! I'm the worst for not recalling the main thing that made you...well...You!"

"Well I could stand to not be as hectic when I do decide to help as evident with what happened with Ma-san, but I'll be helping her with that as will Katy and Lammy as well!"

"Well glad that worked itself out as well." He stands up. Now if you excuse me, I should be heading home! My apartment bed is calling for me! Cuz right now it's...uh…" He pulls out his phone to check, he managed to dry it off and get it to work now that he was back in their real world, he decided to check, but what he saw shocked him "Uh...g-guys?..."

"What happened?..." PJ says as they all walk up to him.

"We've been in there for an entire WEEK!..."

"WHAT?!" The seven of them shout at Matt's discovery.

"Man the wonky time thing completely slipped my mind…"

("Same here…")

"L-Lammy our job!..."

"O-Oh god...w-we have to go and explain right n-now!..."

"If we haven't been fired by now…"

"B-But we still have to h-help them…"

"You're right!...them first! Then our panic! I mean we're already late as is…Come on you guys! Let's get you all to your new work zones! The faster we get you settled the faster we get to fix our own mess…." They all run off.

"Parappa you do realize that panic includes us right? Tamanegi's probably not to happy with Me, Paula and you…"

Parappa simply gulps in realization "We gotta go...now…"

"I'll come with since I wanna apply there anyway."

"Ma-san how come you aren't panicking?" PJ says as he stares at her while she stands there so calmly, after recently crying her eyes out mere seconds ago with Paula.

("Dude I work with my dad, who has run the pharmacy alone for as long as I can remember. I don't think a week of my absence at work will be to different for him. He'll at most just be angry that I didn't tell him where I went.")

"Lucky you…Parappa, Paula. We gotta go. _Now._ "

"Right!" The duo say in unison.

"Ma-san you might wanna follow us out of the forest regardless though."

("Yeah yeah I learned my lesson. Now let's go! Aren't you guys in a hurry?") They all nod and book it out the mini forest.

The group of six eventually arrive at Chop Chop Fruits Cafe. PJ, Paula and Parappa quickly run up to the counter to apologize profusely, only to instead meet two different people at the counter. It was Pinto and Noodles.

"Hi bro!"

"Sup guys."

"Pinto?! Noodles?! The heck are you two doing here?!"

"Well Mr. Chop Chop called dad wondering where you were since you didn't answer, but dad didn't know either so he asked what was wrong, and I overheard and decided to help out for you!"

"Ok...but what about you Noodles?"

"I decided I'd drop by to visit you guys at the place where you worked, but to my surprised that you weren't here! And Chop Chop needed help so I decided to do so myself!"

"But what about Beard Burgers?!"

"Relax man, I left some Noodle goons take care of the place! They always follow orders through and through!"

"Ok...but how did you two manage here?"

"Oh that's simple, the entirety of the crowd was transfixed on me~ Your adorable little sis~" Pinto twirls in a circle, causing Parappa to roll his eyes.

"She's not kidding, she was actually a very effective waitress in keeping them waiting for the orders to come out!"

"Wait, but neither of you know how to make the orders like me, PJ and Paula do...what did you give em?"

"Oh Noodle's took care of that!" The trio stare at Colonel Noodles wide eyed.

"Am I that obvious to guess?"

"Well it is your name." PJ states as he removes his shades the stare at him in a deadpan manner..

"Well ya caught me! I gave em noodle foods and delicacies! And they all loved it!"

"Man I'm sorry to hea- wait they did?!" Parappa's jaw would've dropped were it not for the fact that the people that came here were from out of town. So it makes sense.

"Yep! But man was there a demand for it…After that I don't think I wanna see a noodle again for at least a day or two…" This response earns a laugh from the trio who finally calm down after seeing everything was ok.

"Well if that's how it is, you're free to come back from time to time to prep your noodle delights!"

"I'll consider it man! Right now I wanna just relax once the day is over."

"Well you're free to go now if you like now that we're back!"

"You sure? You three look...exhausted."

"Eheh...that's a long story…" Paula says scratching her head, only to wince after touching the wound.

"I take it that's why you've been gone?"

"Something like that…" The trio scratch their heads. Sweety, Matt and Ma-san just laugh from afar.

"Even after a week of absence, it's not hard to revert back to regular daily cycles is it!" Sweety tries to stifle a laugh, failing miserably.

"You got that right!"

("And man is it entertaining to watch! I needed a good pick me up.")

* * *

"I can't believe they accepted all of them!"

"W-Well they were like y-you said...perfectly f-fitting the b-bill!"

"How'd it go with Deto?"

"Him and Paul became fast friends! I don't...r-really know what h-happened...they just k-kinda looked at e-each other and then s-suddenly laughed and chest b-bumped as if they were lifelong-friends reuniting or s-something...but yeah D-Deto got the job instantaneously!"

"That's great! The kids?"

"Deto said h-he'd look for an orphanage...t-there are a f-few around town so i'm sure h-he'll manage."

"Perfect!...now let's hope we can manage…"

"N-No kiddin…"

The duo keep running until they reach their workplace, they both burst through the door and immediately try pleading with the manager. However they don't see him behind the counter. Instead they see.

"L-LEO?!" They both shout in unison.

Leo simply stays there tuning a guitar before looking up "Sup!" His helmet emits a smiley face.

"W-What are you doing here-" Before they can finish asking, their manager shows up.

"Ah! Ladies! I see you return from your urgent business!"

"U-Urgent business?..."

"Uh...yeah! That!"

"Yes, Leo told me all about that. Speaking of which! You two didn't tell me you knew THE Leo! Or that you got him to fill in for you while you were gone! It was simply AMAZING to just have him up and walk on in here saying he was here to work in your stead! Why I almost fainted on the spot! I swear I'm tempted to raise your pay for this alone! Heck I still will if Mister Leo here asks for it!."

Lammy and Katy simply stare at each other, shocked at how big a fanboy their boss was.

"You really that amazed by lil ol me working here Mister Niles?~"

"Of course! A lone star who rose from seemingly nowhere! And was a hit in multiple genres! Not even just singing, dancing or playing! What's NOT to be amazed by?!~ I own all your songs!"

"If that's so, then offer these two whatever they please and I'll sign em all for you for free~"

Niles quickly looks at the two "Katy, that assistant manager position you've been eyeing. It's all yours. Lammy, that one of kind guitar that I use for display only that I _know_ you've been eyeing. It's yours. As well as a pay raise for the both of you!"

"Y-YES SIR! T-THANKS " They both bow trying to hold back goofy grins of joy.

"I've done my half, and yours?"

"Ya got a marker?"

"Here!" Niles hands Leo a marker from his pocket.

"Alrighty, now lead the way to the stuff I guess. I'm a man of my word~" They walk off to the back room leaving the two giddy girls alone.

"Lammy?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you have any idea of what went down just now?"

"Not a one, all I know is that we somehow benefited heavily from it."

"Hell yeah we did! High five sister!" The both dramatically jump in the air and high five one another.

* * *

After a full day at their job. The trio walk out with Lammy holding a very flashy guitar and Katy sporting a new vest.

"Leo I cannot thank you enough for this!"

"Same here!"

"Weren't no thang~ I came to see if I could get my guitar fixed and saw that dude yelling up a storm bout you two not being there during your shifts. So I decided to fib a lil. And man was that guy an ass kisser to me."

"You got that right. I've NEVER seen that side of him. Like EVER!"

"It was so bewildering...it's like me whenever I get a guitar in my hands! Speaking of which, thank you so much for helping me get this! It was such a pain for my hands to see it but not being able to hold it!"

"Again, it was nothing! I'm just glad I could lighten the load!"

"What I don't get is how you managed. During our shift it's just us two having to deal with so many people...how did you manage by yourself?"

"Oh thats thanks to this invention of mine!"

"Meaning you 'borrowed' it from your dad."

"Shaddup!"

"That's a yes!" Both of them titter.

"Ugh...just look...this belt I have on. It creates physical projections of me, or really anything, but mostly me! It's usually meant to create backup dancers. But...since they are physical copies…" Leo swipes his hand over the node and next to him materializes another him. A spitting image "Why not have some fun am I right?~"

"WHOA!" Katy quickly swarms the second Leo "THAT IS BEYOND AMAZING! Think I could take it for a spin sometimes?"

"I mean I guess…? There should be no harm in it...and I do have an extra one...but why though?"

"What do you mean why though! Look! You can create a mirror image of yourself! That can actually DO stuff! How long does it last?"

"Well it runs off of music and rhythm! Like the club! So as long as your heart is groovin and your feet are movin! They last as long as you want em to! You can also dismiss em at any time~" Leo snaps and the mirror Leo shatters into data "But I'm still not sure it's a good idea…"

"Come oooooon…"

"I'll think it over...for now though. Mind filling me in on where the heck you guys have been for the past week? Some sort of vacation?"

They look at each other and then back to him "You can say that…"

"What happened?"

* * *

"Oh man...is it nice to be back here again…"

("You said it…I'm exhausted...in more ways than one…")

"The day was just to much for all of us really...And I know things ended all happy and whatnot, but after witnessing a murder up right...it's kinda...heavy…"

("That's putting it lightly…") Both Parappa and Ma-san sigh as they recline deeper into the couch next to each other ("Of course we're not gonna be bringing that up for obvious reasons...No one wants to recall that...and besides...we're here trying to keep you all peppy...can't really do that if not even we can muster up the strength to be happy now can we?")

"That's true! Besides it was in her best interest for us to not get upset either...especially you!" He points to the crystal rose by her ear.

("Heh...yeah yeah…") She plucks out the rose ("It'll break if it stays on me...gotta find someplace secure to keep this thing…")

"You do that...also...one thing…"

("What?...")

"What happens...if your fuse is gone entirely?"

("My fuse…") She feels her dynamite only to notice her fuse is gone ("U-Uh oh…")

"That reply is worrisome...you'll be ok?"

("I...don't really know?...I think maybe that's why I got to overemotional?...")

"Will it come back?..."

("I don't know! This hasn't happened to me before!")

"Would your dad know?..."

("I ain't telling him! He'll never let me hear the end of it!")

"I'm sure you'll be fine...it probably just…"

("Burnt out?")

"Uh...Bingo." He scratches his chin to try and think up a change in subject, but the topic he thinks about is still about it "Maybe that's why your body became to hot to the touch?"

("I've noticed that...While that was rather cool...it was just a tiny bit terrifying...of course I was to angry at the time to really...get scared.")

"I noticed, but like I said, I'll help you around with that and properly vent! Don't want this to happen again. And I'm sure your fuse will...uh…'grow' back again."

("It ain't my hair!...is it?...")

"If you don't even know about your own anatomy then what do you expect me to know!"

("Anything! Even a blatant lie that's at the very least reassuring is better than this!")

"But I don't lie…"

("Yeah, currently that's in the air.")

"A-Ah...you g-got me there…" Parappa bites his lower lip in shame "Um...so then tomorrow you plan to go back to work as normal without filling your dad in on anything?"

("Pretty much. Saves me a load of effort. Regardless I'll have to explain if he keeps bugging me about it. Like how you and PJ had to do just that, then were just there constantly re explaining things to the onion.")

"It's not Tamanegi's fault! It's just really hard to explain all that cuz it does sound like a fever dream…"

("No denying that!")

"But at least he did believe in us and he also did hire Matt in the end."

("Why did he start begging? It's not like he was gonna say no.")

"Matt is...uh...I dunno the word."

Ma-san snorts ("Pathetic when it comes to handling men?")

Parappa tries to yell, but it breaks into laughter mid way through "M-Ma-sahahan!..."

("Come on, man even YOU found it accurate and funny!")

"Yes but!..."

("But?~")

"I'm ending that subject right here!"

("Fine by me, I'll count it as a victory!")

"Whatever~" Parappa tosses his gaze away from her with a chuckle. "This is nice...talking calmly like this. No ill emotions running rampant...having fun…"

("Don't get mushy on me now maaaaaan.")

"Alright alright~" He places his arms behind his head with a sly grin "I mean you got pretty mushy yourself not that long ago."

("Your bring that up and I will punch you across the face!")

He leans forward, simply awaiting her action. She instead pinches his cheek and pulls it as far as it can go "OWOWOWOW I'M SORRY!"

("You better be~") She lets go, watching his cheek rubber band itself back to its original position.

"Owwww...thought I could get away with that…" He rubs his cheek as he huffs in defeat.

("That was your first mistake! You should know me better.")

"Now THAT'S up in the air. After earlier today AND the thing with your fuse...I'd say there's still a lot more to learn! Not that it's a bad thing."

("First I'd have to learn more about myself if I had to be completely honest with ya...the more things that allow me to prevent the worse from myself the better…I mean seriously, I could've either killed you or sent you back to that wreck of state you were in...But I was...typically...to mad to care...")

Parappa was at a crossroads with how to even respond here. Ma-san wasn't typically one to want to be hit with affectionate actions unless she either allowed so, or did so herself first. Trying to simply do it out of the blue wasn't exactly an action well liked by her unless you were someone she generally liked a lot, such as Katy and Lammy, as well as her father "Um…" Nevertheless, Parappa gave it a go. He extended his arm and pulls the mouse in for a hug.

("...What are you doing?")

"Trying to stop a problem before it happens."

("What's that supposed to-") Ma-san soon catches on to what he meant and calms down instantly ("Yeah...guess you succeeded.")

"I'd hope so." Parappa is immediately shocked at how quickly she calmed down and how she also wasn't upset with the sudden hug, but managed to maintain his composure as to not show it "Sorry for the sudden hug by the way."

("Don't worry over a thing like that! Who do you take me for?")

"Well I mean you generally don't like this sorta thing unless you yourself let it happen or ask for it…"

("The hell gave that impression?")

"I've just…" He shuffles his feet uncomfortably "Noticed it from...time to time...to time…"

("Well yeah, but that's with people I REALLY don't like...in the slightest. You lot? I don't mind at all! What got you thinking that you didn't count?")

"Eheh…earlier today for starters? And last night...or week rather…"

She stares at him uncomfortably ("...Yeah that would give that impression wouldn't it?...") Now it's her feeling the awkward, uncomfortable air ("Oh boy...how should I word this...well as you've already pieced together. I was that way basically from a point of view that I simply didn't understand. Now by no means was that your fault...mostly. But it's just me acting on my typical temper...and even if I did go through with what I was doing during it...well for starters i'd feel awful.") A little spark flickers at the tip of her dynamite stick for a split second, failing to start anything due to the lack of a fuse ("I don't think any LESS of you...if anything I just hope you don't think any less of ME! I would never think anything different aside from you being a really good friend to me. My vision just gets cloudy from time to time from my anger...can't really see the things i'm doing through the fire in my eyes!") She heaves a heavy sigh, mentally kicking herself over.

"I'm just glad you still consider me a friend. That's all that I really am happy about. The rest I didn't really mind if you did anything to me or not because at least you still vented SOMETHING out."

("Speak for yourself! I'd feel like shit forever…")

"I wouldn't blame you for it."

("But i'd blame MYSELF for it. That getting through your head yet?")

"Crystal clear. Sorry, just trying to keep looking at every silver lining for you."

("Don't. It didn't happen so no need to dwell on it.")

"Aight."

("And on the topic of the friend thing...do you still consider ME as one?")

"That's dumb of you to ask."

("Oh…")

"Of course I do! Nothing would ever change that! You're still a great friend to me. A best friend!"

("O-Oh!...T-That's what you meant!") She softly punches his arm ("Finish your sentences first ya dunce!...I almost expected the worst!")

"Oops...my bad…"

("Very.") She nestles herself better in the hug ("But I'm just glad you also consider me a great friend still.") The two stay like this until a good amount of time has past and Ma-san breaks the hug in a huff ("Where the hell are the other two?! Their shift should've been over by now! And if they were fired, then they should've been here even sooner!")

"I'm sure they didn't get fired, and I'm also sure they're just working a bit of extra time to make up for what they missed." Parappa says as he looks at the time on his phone.

("You're probably right with that...Their boss is one hell of an ass.") She ends up puffing out smoke from the hole where her fuse used to be.

"I've heard...Niles was it?"

("Bingo. Forces the absolute most of the people who work there, while also giving them a hard time.")

"Sheesh...what's his deal?"

("Well from what I could read up on the guy, not much. He seems like an enigma. Only info I could scrounge up on him wasn't even about him! Rather his twin sister.")

"That's always a good sign when you need someone's credentials... what was it about?"

("Her funeral.")

"...Oh…I'm now more concerned than ever…"

("Relax he's not the cause of it, rather he was the only who even attended.")

"O-Oh…phew...man I almost had a mini heart attack over who those two were actually working for…"

("They reacted the same way when I told em that. You guys always expect the worst before the context.") She shakes her head, followed by a large amount of laughter.

"Can you blame us?"

("Yes.")

"Then whatever! Sorry for assuming the worst!" Parappa throws his arms into the air "But that aside, I still say they're fine." The second Parappa says this, the door opens with the two in question walking inside "Speaking of the musical devils!"

"Oh hey, you two are already here!" Katy says as she skips inside.

"Of course. My shift ended a while ago."

("And I simply won't bother till tomorrow. Rather not deal with things for a bit after today.")

"And that's understandab-...wait...a while ago?"

"W-What time is i-it?..." Both Lammy and Katy pull out their phones and are shocked by what they see.

"We spent over two hours explaining all that to him?!"

"W-Well to be fair K-Katy you were also b-bugging him for h-his belt t-thing…"

"And I say it was worth it! Cuz I still got it in the end!"

("Yeesh, now I'm assuming the worst without context...you were right Parappa this ain't fun.") Ma-san rolls her eyes ("What the hell were you two doing? Mugging a guy for his belt?!")

"No!...sort of…" Katy takes a deep breath knowing she's gonna have to explain even more things once again.

* * *

"Man, Leo sure came in at a wonderful time for you two!"

("I'm more caught over by the fact that your tool of a boss fanboys over the dude who fanboys over us!")

"T-That's what s-shocked us as well!" Lammy then holds up her new guitar with an air of invigoration "But it did have it's own benefits such as getting my hands on this little fella right here~"

"Whoa isn't that the guitar you said you've been wanting, but couldn't buy cuz it was only used as a display type thing by your boss? How much did he sell it to you for?"

"Absolutely free thanks to Leo~"

("Hot damn he actually got the guy to bend THAT far backwards?")

"Leo had Niles wrapped around his fingers! And by extension...ours~ Guess who got that assistant manager position~"

("No fucking way? The hardass has been adamant on keeping you away from that position! No matter HOW hard you worked!")

"Oh don't I know it! But he just handed it over thanks to him!" She gives a quick sly grin "I wonder what else I could get away with asking~..."

"Heyheyhey, Leo saved your hides and managed to get you both things you've been eyeing on. Don't abuse the guys generosity to play along with the situation. What's next gonna ask him to get your pay raised?"

"Oh we don't need to ask for that, he already did so on his own merit~"

"What?!" Parappa was left in awe "If that's the case then that's even LESS a reason to abuse it! He already got you guys so much!"

"You're no fun when you're right..." Katy crosses her arms with disdain "Fiiiiiiiiiiiineeeeee."

"Katy uncross your tail." Parappa crosses his own arms.

"Ugh! I am offended that you think I would even do such a-"

"Lammy, if you please."

Lammy grabs and exposes her tail, crossed as if were her fingers "There we go."

"..."

("Straight up, no hesitation in calling her out. You two are savages.") Ma-san gives a hearty chuckle at the spectacle unfolding in front of her.

Katy simply stares at Lammy, silently mouthing out the word "Why?"

Lammy in turn mouths her reply "Payback for what happened at night."

Katy hunches over and sighs before turning back to Parappa "Ok fine...I won't I won't...but if he does so again on his own free will it ain't my fault…" She stands back upright "As for this belt, it's his!"

"Why would you want his belt?"

"Simple answer my dear lifelong mischievous friend! Because it let's me do...this!~ She sits on the couch in the spot to his right, leaning extremely close to Parappa.

"It let's you sit uncomfortably close to me?..."

"Noooooope~" said Katy...that appeared in the same position, but mirror on his left.

"W-Whoa what?!"

"Leo's little belt here allows the person to create temporary clones~" Said the original Katy, as she snaps, causing the copy to disperse as data.

"And he just flat out gave that to you?"

"Well he was originally gonna think about it, but during the explanation of what happened to us...I may have kept bugging him about it to the point he just gave it to me so that I would just get on with said explanation."

"Oh woof…"

("Why am I not surprised in the slightest from that story. You know normally I'd get upset with you for doing a thing you generally tell ME not to do, but I'm gonna let it slide cuz you got a sweet new toy out of it.")

"Why thank you Ma-san~" She gives smile that quickly becomes a frown "You wanna borrow it from time to time don't you…"

("Aw well since you're offering~")

"Okaaaaaaaaaaaay~..." She grabs the belt "I wonder if I could create a clone to go and do the groceries…"

"Katy didn't Leo say they have a set distance of how far the thing can go on it's own when separated from you?" Lammy says as she recalls the information that Katy should've listened in on herself, but stayed transfixed on the belt itself rather than listen.

"I dunno...I may or may not have payed attention to the full instructions on this thing…"

"Go figure...well at least I did and can help teach you about it...after you go and get the groceries yourself."

"Alright _Mom_! No need to neg me any further…" She heads back over to the door "Well I guess I'll be right back!" With a huff, she heads off.

* * *

"Man to think we almost went a day without eating…" Parappa says as he walks on over to the sink to set his now empty plate.

"Not like there was anything to eat...neither of the groups ate conventional things! We're lucky that place had fruit! Otherwise we'd probably be in a bind by then...But hey! We're free now and we get to eat actual food again! Speaking of which, ya guys like?~" the trio gave Katy a nod "I'm glad! Things went a hell of a lot faster when you have like...twelve extra hands~" As she says, twelve other arms sprout from behind her back, soon after six other Katy's pop their heads out from behind her, all of them tittering "Thanks girls~"

"No problem me!" They all say before Katy snaps, sending them away.

"Ok, I'm starting to see the rare value of your new belt~"

"You better Parappa!"

"And YOU better thank Leo for it!"

"I did! I think?..." She looks to Lammy who simply shakes her head "Whoops…I'll handle it tomorrow!...hey speaking of which...since we lost a week...Parappa when's that expo of yours happening now?..."

"The expo?..." Parappa stays at a blank for a bit before the answer returns to him, like a punch to the face "THE EXPO!" He runs off to his bedroom to recover his charging phone to call his father.

("You'd think that would've been something to keep top priority in his mind.")

"I-I'll say…"

"I mean this is Parappa we're talking about here."

("Fair enough.") Ma-san shrugs before adding ("Wanna overhear what they're gonna be talking about?")

"I d-don't know if I'm c-comfortable with doing that...I m-mean it doesn't concern us!"

"It also doesn't NOT concern us."

"W-What kind of l-logic is t-that?"

("The best kind!")

"Well I'm h-having no part in i-it!" Lammy crosses her arms and turns away with her nose in the air.

"Ok! Not like we can force you or anything. Just you know, wanting to 'eavesdrop' simply in case he's in need of help or anything. Like say he missed the thing and is now upset at missing one main opportunity to reconnect with his own dad! He'd be out of it!"

Lammy's stalwart pose starts fumbling "H-Hngg…"

"And I assumed as a best friend, you'd want to prevent that from happening by lifting his spirits…" her mouth curls into a sly devious smile, as her tail and ears follow suit "Just like i'm sure you know he'd do for you~"

Lammy spirals around "W-Well when you put it t-that waaaay…"

"Great! Then you go first!" She gets behind Lammy and shoves her onward.

"W-WAAAAH!..." Lammy simply flies off with Ma-san just staring at Katy.

("That was rather devilish. Not bad.") Ma-san walks off in Lammy's direction.

"Well I mean, she just needs an avid push from time to time!...and maybe just as an excuse for payback as well from time to time~..."

The trio recline along his bedroom door as they listen in to what sounds like a sad dog whining given how much he was explaining over the phone, needless to say it was expected. One distressed puppy whining later "So yeah I'm really sorry and all that…"

" _It's alright son! I'm just glad you're A-OK."_

"Course I am! It ain't like me to get hurt AGAIN."

" _Uh...yeah...ok son."_

"Dad i'm offended…"

" _I'm sorry, it's just really hard to tell these days! You inherited your mothers irrational bravery!"_

"A quality I am more than happy to have!"

" _Yowza son you even speak like her now!"_

The both share a laugh before Parappa speaks up again "So I didn't miss it after all right?"

" _Nope! It's the day after tomorrow! You lucked out just barely! Speaking of which...who were the two groups you helped out again? Tempo Tantrums and the what?"_

"Mood stones?" Papa Rappa simply stays silent for a bit before laughing softly.

" _Haha...Potter...you'd be so happy to see your old friends are still around and kicking…"_

"OH! Did you guys make the Mood Stones?!"

" _Oh no son, that type if inventing is far to great, even for me! We were friends with their creator! And by extension...them!"_

"Who made them?"

" _That part...currently escapes me...sorry son…"_

"Aw, don't worry dad. At least I was able to tell you about them again!"

" _Yeah! And it's sad to hear they decided to just wander the world...but to be fair. We're in a time they don't understand anymore. So they pretty much wanna change that."_

"I getcha."

" _I'm glad you do! You're a smart pup-...no...you're your own smart dog now! And I am a very proud and happy old hound."_

"Dad you're not THAT old…"

" _To you maybe! Haha. Well alright son. I'll be seeing you the day after tomorrow!"_

"Later dad." After he hangs up, he walks over to the door to his room to leave and speak to the others, but upon opening it. Ma-san, Katy and Lammy tumble onto the floor. The four of them simply stare at each other, Parappa decides to break the silence and speak up first. "...It ain't nice to eavesdrop…"

"We just wanted to see if everything was ok!"

"Y-Yeah!..."

("I have no excuse. We were basically eavesdropping.") After Ma-san says this Katy and Lammy simply sigh in defeat.

Parappa just stares at the three on the ground before smiling "Thanks for feeling worried over me still. Even if it was done in a rather misguided gesture."

"What are you gonna do in the meanwhile?..." Katy says as she reminds him that he still has one free day before the expo.

"My daily routine for tomorrow basically. There's nothing different that I feel like I have to do!" His ear twitches after he says this, but he doesn't have a clue as to why "But I think I'm gonna hit the hay early...to fully make up for not sleeping an entire night…two nights ago...or rather a week ago?...Man this is confusing…"

"That's for the best! Glad to see you so pumped to take care of yourself!"

"What can I say? Matt and Ma-san gave me another reality check. Seems like i'll be needing a few of those." Parappa's words simply get Katy and Lammy to stare at Ma-san, confused at how what she did was something to trigger that big of an impact in him.

("Way to put me on the spot…") Parappa begins helping the three of them up.

"That wasn't my intention. I was simply stating the truth. A truth i'm glad about." He then shoos them out of his room "Now with that said, lemme sleep! I don't want the three of you on my case over it again! So I'll get on my own case about it!"

The trio laugh before saying in unison "You do that!" As they leave his room, grinning ear to ear.

With that done with, Parappa hops onto his bed "Well, early bird gets the worm they say! But there isn't really a worm TO get now is there?" He checks his options again, thinking of what could've gotten his ear to twitch before giving up "Well...at least I have the fact that I'm doing this for my own good to look forward to!" And just like that, he shuts his eyes and simply awaits dreamland.

And after a good bit of time, he does reach it, and once again he suffers a bizarre dream.

"Aw man...not these AGAIN...ok now where am I?..." He looks around to see that he's in a rocky path that leads to nowhere. The path itself is surrounded by purple water. "You know I think I remember this place from when I played with Ms. Yoko...but that means I'm in hell…why did I go to hell in my dreams?!...something doesn't add up..." Without any other option, he runs along the path. Eventually he stops in place "Ok. Usually by now I run into something...but now i have nothing...just this long empty path...and this stupid empty bodies of water right by its sides...wait…" He leans over the water "Don't tell me…" In his reflection he sees himself, however it looks rather grayed out, to which he assumes is because of the water itself as well as the fact that he's in a dream. He inhales deeply as he takes a few steps back "HERE I GO!" He runs and jumps off the path and dives into the water, upon doing so he is ejected out into a rather depressing looking building "How does THAT work?! There isn't even any water here to even come OUT from!" Before Parappa can remark on his surroundings some more however...

 _I need… I need..._

The voice he hears causes a chill to run down his spine "That's totally not creepy…"

 _I need...someone...anyone…_

"I have to follow the sound don't I…alright! Fine! Let's see this through!" He heads off to the direction of the haunting plea.

 _Someone...anyone...can no one hear me?...I need..._

"I can hear you! Now if I can just get to you…whoever...or _whatever_ you are…"

 _I...need…_

"And….HERE- whoa…" Parappa stares at an inky dark figure on the ground. He can't exactly tell who or WHAT it is. It's all just a shadowy figure who is colored gray and black from head to toe "Um...h-hello! You wouldn't happen to be a...person?...in need of something would you!...h-hehe.."

The figure simply looks up at Parappa for a second, before looking back to the ground.

" _I need…"_

"Need...what?..."

" _Something…"_

"Yeah I kind of figured...but that would be…?"

" _Something...important...important to_ _ **me**_ _?...yes...I think…"_

"Why the hesitation?..."

" _I am confused...I need...what I refuse..."_

"Um...w-what?...why would you refuse it then?..."

" _Pride...ego...denial...humiliation…resent."_

Parappa swallows roughly "A-Ahah...I get it…" _I so do not…_ "So then...m-mind telling me what I can give!...?"

" _I need...something...that may not be easy...to give to me…"_ by this point, the voice grows soft, enough for Parappa to more clearly understand it. And he soon figures out it's a girl.

"Uh...is it...money?..."

" _No…"_

"A h-home?..."

" _You are standing in my home...right now...so no…"_

"A-Ah right! And what a lovely home it is!..." _Why would you submit yourself to these conditions?! This is just heartbreaking to LOOK at! Let alone live in!_ "I wish I brought a housewarming gift!"

" _You lie...but ok…"_

"H-Heh...ok then...do you need...uh…"

" _I need...help…"_

"That's right you need-...h-help?" Parappa was down right lost by this point. _She wants help?...But she refuses it?...from pride, ego, denial, resentment and humiliation...but it's also hard to give to her?...The hell?! How do I help with that!..._ "Um...ok...help. Well. How can I help you?..."

She doesn't reply

"Come on you gotta know what you need for it if you know you need help!"

" _I need help…"_

"And I wanna help you! But how?!"

" _But it doesn't matter…"_ the figure soon stands upright, showing to be bigger than Parappa, but not by much. Similar to Katy, Lammy or Paula's height. She holds something over her head " _You're like them…"_

"W-What are you gonna do with that…"

" _It doesn't matter…"_ She swings it down, before it hits him square in the face, he notes what it is. It's a guitar.

Parappa wakes up in a white void.

"WHOA...ugh...ok...here's 'phase two' now right?...alright so what madness is this…" He looks around to see nothing but an empty white abyss in every direction "A white room...how nice…" He shrugs in annoyance "At this rate, with these dreams I keep having, I might as well be put in one…" His hand slaps himself as he says this "OW!...ok...yeah...don't think negatively...got it…wait..." He looks down to see his hands and legs moving on their own "Ok this is fun...ok since you apparently know the way to go, then I'll just sit back and watch…" His autopilot trip simply annoys him further until he notices something in the distance.

His body comes to a stop as he's now within range of properly seeing what the object is "Huh?...oh hey it's that!...Person?...again? Well since I have control of my body again...let's see who they ar-...I can't move...great…" Suddenly the ground, or lack thereof, begins rumbling beneath his feet. Soon after platforms begin to rise, catapulting him off to where he spotted the figure "WHYYYY MEEEEEEEEE…" He lands with a thud "Ow...Ugh…." After he pries his face from the ground he looks around to see that many platforms rose. They were all actually guitars. He shakes his head and refocuses on the figure. They're still hard to determine what they are, but Parappa still tries to help nonetheless "Uh...hey there!...I think we might've gotten off on the wrong foot back there!..." _granted you are just a figment in my dreams…_ "And I still think I can help you!.." The ground beneath them begins rumbling again "Uh oh…" The floor beneath him breaks way and as he falls, he is immediately caught by the figure.

" _You can't give me the help I need…"_

"W-Wanna bet? I'm persistent when it comes to helping others! That's a fact that I look through to the end! That's a Parappa Guarantee!"

She stays silent as her grip begins to slip " _I find that hard to believe…"_

"I-I'm the beacon of b-believing! It is my c-catchphrase after all!" _Please help me up…!_

" _Persistent...very well...I am certain you will meet the real me out there...well...you already have...but do you remember I wonder?...I just hope you have...what you need to help…"_

"I do- wait...real you?..." _You're just part of my dreams! Aren't you?_ she lets go of his arm, watching him fall into the abyss.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Parappa flails helplessly about as he falls near endlessly. He looks back up to the figure still staring down "I-I WILL DO MY BEST TO HELP REAL YOU! B-BUT COULDN'T YOU TELL ME WHAT I'LL NEED?..." She simply looks away "H-HEY!..." Her form becomes slightly more manageable to see, but due to the distance it is still quite the challenge. Parappa soon lands onto the ground, the pain wasn't real, but it didn't stop it from feeling real "Agh...at least...i'm still...in one piece…" Suddenly the figure hovers over him again. He would've scream had he the energy for it "Why did you let-"

" _A guitar…"_

"Wha-"

" _Make sure you have a guitar with you…"_

"...w-will the guitar help you?..." Parappa feels his vision fading, he was waking up.

" _Not directly...but it will start the process of getting through my stubborn skull...from that point on...it's all you…"_

"T-That doesn't explain anything! WHO are you!...Where will I even FIND the real world version of you?!" The dream starts dissipating faster, but before he completely wakes up, the shape of the figure is now much more manageable. The shape seems familiar, but he couldn't tell who it was...the pain in his back and head weren't exactly making it easier, nor was the fact that he just woke up.

"G-GAH!" Parappa forces his eyes open, upon doing so, he finds himself staring at Lammy directly face to face "W-WAAAAH!"

"S-Sorry!..."

"W-Why were you just hovering over me?!..."

"W-Well see...I woke up and decided to go and relax on the couch with m-my new guitar and then I heard s-screaming from your room and wanted to check..b-but when I got here you were on the f-floor!...I-I'm sorry!..."

"On the floor?..." Parappa looks to see he was now on the ground. _That explains the realistic pain…_ "And I was screaming?...Oh...that's...embarrassing...don't apologize Lammy that's my bad for having the uh...well I wouldn't exactly call it a nightmare...anyway sorry for interrupting your time to break your new guitar in!...wait…" Parappa stays staring at Lammy.

"W-What is it? D-Do I have something on m-my face?..."

Her body matched the figure's down to the money "...Say...you uh...don't need help with anything...guitar related by any chance do you?..."

"W-Wha?...No?...I'm fine with everything on that front...why asking?..."

"Ah...no reason at all! Just uh...curious!"

"Well I'm f-fine. T-Thanks for asking I g-guess?..."

"Well I'm fine now! You can go back to testing your new guitar! It's all good here! Sorry again for making you worry…"

"W-Well it's alright n-now seeing as it w-wasn't anything bad!..." She stands up "Still t-though...I'll be just down t-the hall if YOU need h-help!"

"Gotcha!" With that, she leaves his room "Phew...Why the heck did the thing look like Lammy?...It clearly isn't her...the guitar requirement and the shape are where the similarities end...wait...I still need a guitar!..." He bolts out of the room "T-There actually is something I need help with!"

 _What am I gonna do lugging a guitar around after I get one?_


	14. Jammin with a Lamb, Practice for the Ram

"So you're telling me you left the guitars we made back in that other place?"

"W-Well i didn't t-think we needed t-them…sorry…"

"No...it's ok. You do have a point, why would you need em when you have better ones already?" Parappa scratches his hair under his beanie.

"W-Why do you even need a g-guitar?..."

"Ah...that's...a bit of an explanation…" _I actually have no explanation...and trying to tell you my dream will probably cause you to laugh at me…_ Parappa's eyes roll about the room until he can think of something "I...just...wanna…" _Quick, say anything!_

"Wanna?..."

"Learn how to play one!" _Well...that's as good a reply as any other I guess...wonder what she thought of it?_

"O-Oh!...y-you do?" Lammy's hands find themselves drifting to her new guitar "I...can...help with that!"

 _Oh dear...well uh…_ "G-Great!...h-haha...now I just need to get a guitar!..."

"Well, I'd hand you either of my two guitars, but I rather not risk anything...happening to them…"

 _Sheesh it's not like I'd BREAK em or anything_ "A-Ahahaha...t-that's fine!"

"I-It's not like I don't trust you with em...it's just I just got this one after thinking it'd be impossible and my original one is a rather sentimental one that I'm a tad overprotective on and-"

"Lammy don't panic! I'll just get a new one. Now the question is...should I go for the store by the shopping row-"

"To expensive, and not even worth the price."

"Ok...how about the one that's across the street from beard burg-"

"Shoddily made to match their bargain bin prices."

"...Alright, then how about that place next to the record store-"

"You're better off using a Guiro by that point, it sounds better than anything sold there."

"Wow you uh...really know your stuff…" Parappa stares at her wide-eyed for her quick criticisms on the music shops.

"Oh!...uh...yeah I guess I do when it comes to guitars. When you play one for so long, you come to see where it's actually worth getting one to use." She simply plays a riff on her new guitar.

"Well how about the shop YOU work at? Think that place would have what I need? After all, that's where you got this one!"

Lammy stops playing as the guitar nearly drops from her hands "U-Uh...I...r-recommend NOT g-going there…"

 _Where the heck did her bravado go?_ "Is the place really that bad?"

"U-Uh...sure we can uh...s-say that…"

"Any...particular reason?"

"U-Um...oh would you look at the time!...The others should be awake soon! I should really head out and buy the stuff needed in order to get breakfast ready! S-Sorry Parappa, but we'll have to continue this another time!" She bolts to her room in a mad dash, a few moments later, she rushes out of the house altogether after getting suitable clothing and is seen running down the street from the window.

"That was...odd…" Parappa tilts his head as he places a finger on his chin "I'd even say concerning, but I can't really invade over little matters. If she says no then it's a no. Hmm...that just leaves Paul's place. And seeing as we BOTH used that place, i'm guessing that's fine." Parappa shakes his head, causing his ears to flop about "Really wish she didn't bring up a Guiro...still have bad memories from the thing...Bah that's not important now! Breakfast will have to wait, I need a guitar and quickly!" Parappa runs off to his room to get better dressed and also runs out in a hurry, but not to the extent that Lammy took.

* * *

"Alright so I just gotta keep driving on down this path and I'll be there before I know it!...say that's a large crowd of people...what's happeni-" Parappa drives up to see that a building had caught ablaze, the sight leaving him in a terrified awe as it brings up rather...unwanted memories "...H-Holy sh-"

"MOVE MOVE MOVE!" The fire fighters shouted, snapping Parappa out of it, as they scattered around the place, hoses ready.

"Puddle sir!" the firefighters await their chiefs call.

Puddle simply stares at the fire "Man...this is some heavy Deja Vu men…"

"Do we have enough to put it out sir?"

"It's not if we have the water, but rather if we have the time to save the building and everyone in it…Not again…" He stares at the ground in a PTSD induced flashback.

Suddenly another fire truck appears as more firefighters appear from it

("ALRIGHT MEN! THIS IS WHAT WE WERE HIRED FOR!") The Ex Tempo's march out of the truck and rush into the burning building, each and everyone one of them lining up on specific parts and floors of the building, holding it together.

"S-Sir! The new recruits are holding the building steady!"

"Well I'll be damned...ALRIGHT, THEY BOUGHT US TIME! NOW LET'S PUT OUT THAT FIRE REAL GOOD!"

"WITH THE FUNK!" The hoses began blasting water at the building that was now more stable.

"Alright, you, you and you will be coming with me inside to escort any trapped civilians out of there!" Puddle says as he points to three corresponding firemen.

"ROGER!" The three dogs say in unison as the storm in.

Puddle rushes after them but stops at the entrance of the building, whispering to himself "Heh...where you new guys ten years ago? Could've helped a lot back then…" He nods to himself before continuing inside.

Parappa simply stares, amazed at how efficiently the Ex-Tempo's managed to help in this situation until he closes his eyes with a smile "See Bunsen? Ur? Fire doesn't have to destroy after all." With a prideful nod he resumes his drive.

* * *

"Ok PJ so!...What do I gotta do?"

"Well it's pretty much straightforward if you just follow what I do Matt." PJ waves his arm around the ingredients "The orders are quick to prep, only thing to really be wary for is how long you let some of them bake or others blend. Don't wanna ruin anything before its done."

"Got it! So I'll just follow your lead! You'd think it'd be easy for Chop Chop to teach Noodles and Pinto that wouldn't it?"

"Well Noodle's case is self explanatory, and for Pinto...eh...she seemed like she was keen on just being the waitress."

Matt thinks on it "Well can't argue there, given both of their track records. Although given how smart Pinto is, you'd think she'd be above acting like the cutesy little girl."

"On the contrary, that just shows how smart she really is. She knew they'd eat it up And she also knew what to apparently do so that they would KEEP eating it up."

"Yeesh that's astounding, and a bit scary when you think about it."

"Relax, in the end she's still just a kid having fun."

"I guess, it's just astounding to have a kid so young with a brain so big! She started actually using it since she was like...six right? She even made that weird little blue thing that tags along with her always. Uee was it?"

"Bingo! Course with help from her dad, similar to Parappa and Boxy boy."

"Wait, Parappa made him?"

"Again with help from his dad, so because of that Parappa feels as if it was mostly just his dad."

"Ah I getcha." Matt taps his fingers on the counter "So-"

"No I will not continue this chat. You're trying to stall for time to avoid dealing with the eventual customers."

"Pffft whaaaaat. No i'm noooooooot." sweat started to emerge onto his face as a failed attempt at a smile plasters itself on his face.

"Matt relax, recall that Parappa, Tamanegi AND Paula will have your back here."

"Yeah...I know, but it's just still a LOT of people i'll have to deal with…"

"Again relax, it's not like someone gonna bail out on us-" PJ is silence by the sound of the cafe door opening "Oh? Who could that be? Tamanegi said he'd take a while…" Paula walks up to the counter, wearing a hoodie that cover the top half of her face from being seen "Oh, you're early Paula."

"Hey Paula, what's with the new hoodie?"

"Oh it's just to not make any on lookers worried."

"Worried?" The two boys say in unison. Paula then pulls down the hood revealing a more bandages that are wrapped around her head, even covering her left eye!

"Whoa what happened?!"

"The blow to my head was apparently much more...not good then what we presumed. Even temporarily lost vision in my left eye."

"Why do you sound so calm about this?!" Matt says as he fumbles his hands in place in an exaggerated manner.

"Oh because I already had it checked out, did so the second we cleared things with Chop Chop. Docs said I was smart to at the very least try to bandage it up, slowed down what would've been a real bad mess. I'm talking full on blindness! Thanks to Parappa's quick thinking, I got off with just temporary half blindness for about a day or two. Still gotta deal with the pain of the injury itself on my head though till it heals. Other than that I'm ok, hence why I didn't want anyone to worry."

"Oh man, it's still a cause to worry! Just don't overexert yourself...either way you can't work like this!" PJ states as he rubs his forehead.

"That's why I'm here early. I came to tell Chop Chop that I'll have to be benched for a few days till my visions fully restored, can't really do much with only half my depth perception." She looks around "Where is he anyway?"

"Out gathering more stuff, he didn't stock up since Noodle's was here taking care of it. Now that we're back he had to make a big trip. We'll pass the message for you."

"No, i'd rather tell him myself. I asked for the job, i'll take responsibility for my own actions on why I can't arrive for it!"

"You have no responsibility to take! That injury was out of your control!"

"You try explaining that to a doctor."

"No need, Tamanegi already made me feel like a child explaining a fever dream when me and Parappa tried explaining it to him…"

"You see?"

"Fine fine, just take a seat and wait for him."

"It's just a slight headache inducing hit, it's not like i'm just gonna drop and faint on the spot! Sheesh." Paula rolls her eye and then simply stares at PJ with an annoyed glare.

"Ok! I'm sorry I decided to be worried for a friend of mine!" PJ returns the annoyed glare to her.

Matt simply stares at the two of them back and forth, then crosses his arms and speaks up "You sure you two broke up?" Both immediately turn their gaze to Matt, he can feel the anger seeping off of them "E-Eheh...p-poor choice of words…" he immediately braces for impact "C-Can't you two take a joke?!"

* * *

"And here we are! Chuck's Custom Guitars! Sales*Repairs!" Parappa parks his car and hops out "It's the last place that wasn't criticised to the ground by Lammy so this is my choice by default!" He runs on inside and upon heading in he sees all the racks filled with guitars "Wow...this place usually doesn't all the stocks full…" He looks to the counter to see Paul and Deto laughing between each other as they seem to talk about things only they'd get "Yeah that explains it." He walks up to them.

"Well hey! Look who we have here! If it ain't the town star!"

("Oh laddie! Didn't think you'd be visiting me at my new place of business so soon!")

"Hello to the both of you! Man this place is packed to the brim with guitars!"

"Well that's thanks to the fun motivation brought to me thanks to my new buddy! Really does make it easy to chop even more trees down for fun!"

("Ahem!") "Agreed! T'was but a fine combination! There was instant chemistry and the guitars just filled the shelves! Now we're fully stocked and have to wait to be bought out before we can carry on! But I guess it's better this way, the trees can grow back in that time!" Both of the laugh as if they brought up an inside joke.

"Well that's great! It even seems as if the quality of the guitars improved even further!" Parappa says as he glances by the selections.

"That they have! Also an end result of our new enhanced work!" Paul gives a hearty laugh, causing his gut to shake "Since ya hear, I take it you'll be buying one?"

"Yeppers!"

Paul nods, but then scratches his head "That's odd kid, I thought you didn't play the guitar ever since you accidentally turned both your made one and fancy one into Guiros..."

"Well I mean I don't, but-"

"Buying a gift for someone then laddie? Is it for the lamb lassie? Or the cat lassie?" Deto says as he chimes in.

"No its!-"

"Oh that's right! I forgot about them girls! You trying to win em over?"

"No! The guitars for me! I...need it for something…" Parappa tries to avoid explaining the actual reason "I wanna learn to play!" _I did it again!_

"Oh! Well that's great to hear! Never hurts to branch out what you do! Just pick one out and we'll help send you on your way with it!"

After a bit of browsing, Parappa finds a guitar that catches his eye and decides to take that one. Once he talks with the duo, he pays for it and is off.

"There goes a satisfied customer!"

"I hope the learning process goes well for the lad. But i'm sure he'll be fine!"

"If it goes as well as the boy's singing front then he'll be better than fine!" Paul nods in confirmation of himself then begins thinking "I wonder if I can hire him for something I'll be planning in the future…"

"Oh right! You're plannin on proposin to your burd ain't ya? Who was she again...that there idol from hell, Mistress Yoko wasn't it?"

"The very same! I just hope she says yes is all…"

"Oh come on there! With how you say things are between the two of ya since yer time datin, I'm sure it'll go smoothly! Especially with the gift you're planning on makin and givin before ya even propose!"

"Hope you're right on that, don't really have time for jokers." He crosses his arms as he snorts out smoke.

"Oh have more faith in yerself! Anywho what did you have in mind for the furry lad?"

"Well in case things do go well! I'd plan to hire him as the wedding singer!"

"Oh how nice! Well all I can do is hope all goes well for ya!" The two clutch their hands in a heavy handshake.

In the meanwhile, Parappa reaches his car and sets the new guitar in the seat next to him "Alrighty! Time to keep this with me now! Oh but I don't have time to get back and eat something...I'll just eat something at the cafe! Might as well since we're gonna be starting soon." He hums happily as he drives off.

* * *

"Alright time to go eat something!" He leaves his car with the guitar strapped on his back, but upon heading inside, he is shocked to see PJ and Paula launching objects at Matt, who hides behind a table, using it as a shield "What the hell did I miss?"

Matt is the only one to notice Parappa and quickly calls out "H-Help!"

Without hesitation Parappa heads off to help him while avoiding the objects flying about, within moments he arrives behind Matt's makeshift blockade "What the heck did you do?"

"Why do you assume that this is my fault?" Matt just watches Parappa as he crosses his arms and furrows his brow "Yeah...alright...this was my bad…I maaaaay have made a poorly timed joke from not reading the room properly..."

"Sheesh, Ma-san has rubbed you fully if that's the case...oh man let me help you out of this. Come on."

"I go out there, I may die." Matt huddles into a ball and falls onto his side, trembling in fear for his well being.

"Fine ya big baby, I'll help you out of this. They may be mad at you, but they won't try to harm me! I just got here!" The second Parappa stands up, he is conked in the head by a plastic jar, instantaneously knocked by it.

"Well...can't say I didn't expect that…" He gets up and runs off to Parappa's side "Aw man…H-HEY! QUIT IT! I SURRENDER!...YOU GUYS KNOCKED OUT PARAPPA!"

"Lying won't get you out of this Matt!" Paula yell from the other side of the cafe.

Matt picks up his unconscious friend and waves him around "This look like a lie to you?!"

The objects stop flying as PJ and Paula run up to him.

"Aw hell…" PJ stares at the unconscious Parappa before flicking Matt on the forehead.

"Ow!"

"This is your fault you know."

"Yeah yeah...can we just stop? I AM sorry...it was just a poor attempt at a joke…"

"Poor is an understatement…" Paula says before also flicking Matt on the forehead.

"OW! I DO bruise rather easily you know!..."

"Oh suck it up, I nearly cracked my head open and am here staring at you with only half my vision! If _I_ can be alright with that, you can handle light taps to the head!"

"...wow way to make me feel like a wimp by comparison…"

"Man. Up. What happened to the Matt that apparently knocked over a big bad fire fox while also stopping him from offing your friend?"

"He stayed behind back there with any actual danger…" Matt groans "Look I get what you mean, and I do have my moments. I just rather prevent moments of that regard in a more moderate fashion so it doesn't NEED to come to that..."

Now PJ interjects "You weren't like that five years ago. Where'd your bravery go?"

"It went down the toilet along with my pride when I didn't bother helping Parappa during that warehouse nearly crushing us. And then being called lucky by the docs for just running away…"

"Not like you could've done much to begin with. None of us could have. We all felt bad, but it's by no means a reason to make sure you bubble wrap EVERYTHING."

"I know that _now._ Parappa made me see that with him, it's impossible to try to be that safe when he'll go headlong into a problem to fix it no matter what!" He groans in self aggravation as he smacks his own head "I both love and hate that he's got such a big heart…"

"You're telling us…" Both Paula and PJ force out a chuckle before PJ cargo lifts Parappa over his shoulder.

"Come on let's get him onto a chair, and then clean this place up...we open in under an hour…if Tamanegi sees any of this he'll blow open his layers!..."

"Ewwww...I did NOT need that mental image…"

"Same here...ugh...that's the classic PJ bluntness at work!" Matt laughs to himself earning another flick to the forehead from the bear.

* * *

"Ten minutes till we open!" PJ shouts out

"Ugh...my head…"

"Parappa's finally awake!" Matt shouts back "So Paula, aren't you gonna...you know head home and rest?"

She lifts her hood back up "Nope, at least not yet. I wanna speak with Parappa."

"But Chop Chop said you were good to go."

"I know, still wanna thank him for the quick thinking."

"Gotcha!" Matt walks back to where Parappa was.

"Ow...where am I…" Parappa continually rubs the bump on his head until he remembers "OH!...the cafe! MATT!"

"Hey! No need to yell! I'm right next to you!"

"S-Sorry...well...you seem ok now!"

"Yeah and all it costed was you getting hit in the head!"

"Lucky you…" Parappa scratches around his back until he notices that the guitar he had strapped on was no longer on his back "H-Hey where's the guitar I had?"

"PJ put it in the back of the kitchen."

"Phew…"

"What up with that anyway?"

"Ah...I just…" _Might as well give him the same excuse_ "Wanna learn to play one is all."

"Cool. Paula's out there sitting at one of the tables, she wants to talk to you before she heads home."

"Head home? But we open in-" He stares at his watch "Seven minutes! Wow I was out cold...guess there's no eating here either for me…"

"You didn't EAT-" Matt was about to go off on a tangent, but Parappa quickly beats him to the punch.

"I'll work out something with PJ in the kitchen, so don't start. Now I'll go see what Paula has to say in the meantime." Matt facepalms in anger as he watches Parappa walk off.

"Hey Paula!" He continues speaking as she slowly removes her hood "What's with you bailing out on us? You look like you're in perfectly fine conditiooooOOOOOOOH WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR EY-" Paula shuts him up by shoving a donut in his mouth.

"Calm down and let me explain first! Look, after we came back from that weird place and finished up here, I went to the hospital to get myself checked out because I may have not told you guys that my vision was getting just a slightly bit blurry. Docs patched me right up and said that it was thanks to the slight bandaging that I managed to prolong what would've been a bigger problem long enough for me to get it fully treated! My eyesight will return by tomorrow or the day after. Of course I'll still have the bump and the headaches for a little while longer, but not as painful! And I gotta thank you for that, after all it was _your_ quick thinking with the bandages."

Parappa forcibly swallows the donut in one gulp "Ow…" he rubs his throat before replying again "Well, i'm glad you're going to be fine. You probably should've said all that BEFORE you pulled the hood down, but I digress. I just did what I thought was the smartest thing to do! I had the bandages on me after! So...you're welcome! Although I really only had them because Katy, Ma-san and Lammy made me keep extras incase the ones I have now became to worn down or dirty or just plain ineffective. So you should be thanking them instead of me."

"Were they the ones to tell you to help me? From what I recall, Ma-san was busy with the Tempos, Lammy was unconscious and Katy was angry at me at the time."

"I mean yeah, but-" She shoves another donut in his mouth.

"Just accept the thanks already."

This time he manages to chew the donut efficiently before swallowing "S-Stop doing that!..."

"Will you accept the thanks?"

"Yes yes!..."

"Then I will. Here's the remainder of the box so you can eat them on your own. They were given to me by Chop Chop as a get well soon type gift, but I happen to overhear that you skipped out on eating breakfast."

"N-Not by choice!..."

"Excuses, excuses...now go eat!" She stands up and places the hood back up "I'll be off now."

"Won't you need help?"

"Oh don't worry! I only ran into three things on my way over here!" Parappa stares at her in fear of her well being and simply gulps "I'm KIDDING…" She sighs seeing that her attempt at lightening the mood failed greatly "Well, take care."

"I should be the one telling YOU that."

"Likewise." She winks with her visible eye before sliding out of the cafe.

"Man, sometimes I wonder if it's a good thing that we all stay the same as our younger days" He places another donut in his mouth as he just shrugs it off.

* * *

"Oh man, what a day…." Matt stretches his back and arms "Guess this is something I gotta get used to!"

"Well for your first day, you did great! Almost mixed up an order or two, but that was quickly handled!" He pats his friends back before carrying on "I can already see you going about as if you've been here all along!"

"Well with complementary motivation like that I can only hope!" They fist bump before PJ pops in.

"Hey, glad to see you're making our new recruit feel very welcome!"

"Uh...PJ it's just me-"

"Matt shut up and let me finish."

"But! Erm...ok."

"Since we recruited another male member! It's time for what Parappa and I planned since way back when! I don't even think we can remember how far back!"

"Where you guys expecting to have more recruits?..."

"Well we figured the cafe would've garnered enough popularity for newcomers…but I think it's because of said popularity that we may have appeared to be...I dunno, high standard?" Parappa says with a sad whine.

"Well those guys don't know what they missed! Honestly working with you two can have!...Mixed results…"

"HEY!" Both shout at Matt from that remark, but he simply laughs at them.

"You two aren't exactly proving me wrong!"

"Whatever, me and PJ planned out a snack fest with the would be new guy, but the only one who eventually opted to join was Paula, when we tried inviting her, she called it all a dumb thing and decided against it heavily...it was probably for the best as it was meant for a guy and not a girl after all."

"It didn't hurt to TRY and invite her, but she could've gone without the demoralizing…" PJ grumbles underneath his breath once he mentions this.

"Well I mean, this is Paula, what you guys had in store probably just didn't appeal to her." Matt says trying to cheer them up.

"Oh no doubt about that, but still! It's something me and PJ planned with utmost emotion!"

"Sheesh. How about we get off this topic and you just tell me what you two wanna do with me. Something about a snack fest?"

"Well yeah! Think of it as a mini binge initiation type deal!" Parappa fist bumps the air.

"Did PJ think this up?"

"Rude! How dare you accuse me of- yes. Yes it was mostly me."

"Heh, aw hell why not! Nothing wrong with stuffing your face everyone once and awhile!"

"Exactly!"

"Matt don't encourage him…"

"To late! Let's eat!"

"Words I wanna hear!"

"Alright. Guess we're eating!" Parappa just shrugs it off as he straps the guitar on his back and along with PJ, brings in the snacks.

* * *

The trio slowly strut down the street as Parappa holds his hands around his gut, eventually stopping to whine in discomfort "Ohhhh...I should not have let myself try and go against PJ all out…" Parappa clutches his stomach more tightly in pain.

"You're just realizing that THAT was a mistake just _NOW?_ "

"I'm an optimist, I figured I could give it a shot." Parappa covers his mouth before releasing a painful burp "But that was probably the biggest mistake I'll ever make…"

"You can't beat the king, you can only humor him." PJ lifts his arms to the sky triumphantly as the slowly descending sun beacons off of him.

"I don't know if being the king of having a black hole for a stomach is something to be proud of man."

"Matt sometimes you can't be picky over your own ridiculous superpower."

"This does not qualify as a superpower." Matt turns his attention back to their hunched over friend "Right Parappa?...Uh...You ok man?" Parappa stayed in a ball as his face began turning purple.

"Uh oh...that's a heavy hit of deja vu...quick we gotta find a bathroom! Stat!" PJ plucks Parappa off the ground and zooms off with Matt following right after.

After enough running around, the trio eventually find a bathroom for Parappa. After he's done, PJ decides to tease him over it "Sheesh, glad we found a bathroom! Ironically it's the same exact one as when this little problem happened the FIRST time!" PJ can't help by laugh loudly at the memory.

"Please don't...I really don't wanna remember that...like...ever again…"

Parappa's reply just gets Matt to laugh along with PJ "I don't think anyone would, but it's just the fact that this happened to you AGAIN. Can you blame us for laughing?"

"...whatever...I'm calling it a day. I'll be at the Expo for a majority of the day tomorrow so don't expect me to be at work tomorrow. I already informed Tamanegi sensei."

"Yeah yeah...man, Paula calling out as well messed up some things huh?" Matt shrugs.

"Well whatcha gonna do about that? Can't be helped." he turns around "Well later guys."

"Later man, I'm gonna head off to. Need to catch up on my driving lessons that I've been missing for the week." As Parappa disappears in the distance Matt adds on.

"You? Driving lessons? Who's teaching you if it isn't him? Mooselini?"

"Nope. Leo."

"Why him?" Matt huffs, offended that he wasn't an option to teach his friend how to drive.

"Oh just...taking him up on an offer after him and I had a small chat."

"Well I just hope he's a good teacher…" Matt grunts as he kicks a can that's on the ground away.

"He is, no worries. What's up with you though? What got you all upset all of a sudden?"

"Well how come _I_ wasn't an option to help teach you?"

"That's it?" PJ sighs "Didn't take you to be offended by the little things. I didn't wanna bother you guys. And as for Leo, he was simply a good countermeasure." _As in, it's his punishment_ "So that's why."

"Well, not much for a reason, but I know it's all i'm gonna get out of you…." Matt kicks the ground in frustration "Ok! Just hope I can be of assistance to you as well with something else in the future."

"Of course, don't worryyyyyyy. You should know that I always keep you and Parappa in mind when I need help, but for now you should probably help Parappa more than me. Just know that I do understand the friendly gestures."

"I'm glad you do! I'll leave you to it then. Later man."

"Later." The two nod and part ways.

* * *

"I'm back!" Parappa unstraps the guitar from his back and heads for his room. He doesn't get a reply and simply shrugs it off "I'm sure they probably went out somewhere." As he heads to his room door, he hears voices from the other side just as he grabs the doorknob "Wha?..." Parappa leaves his guitar by the wall then places his head to the door to listen in.

" _He's here! I can't go through with this!"_

 _("Oh just grow a spine already! Beside you offered it to him and ALREADY planned the whole thing out!")_

" _Yes! That was an impulse action that i'm quickly regretting!_ "

 _("Regret THIS!")_

" _H-Hey Ma-san! S-Stop it! W-Waaaaah!"_

There's a loud thud that hits the door from the other side, immediately Parappa opens the door only to have Lammy fall on top of him "Whoa!...oof…"

"Owowow…" Lammy rubs her head until she notices who she's on top of "E-EEEEP…" she wastes no time in getting off of him "I-I'M S-SO SORRY P-PARAPPA!..."

"It's cooooool...ow" Parappa peels himself off the ground "...what where you doing?..."

"I-I-I wassss…."

("She was setting up a surprise for you. She wanted to make the lessons she promised you start immediately the second she would see you with your new guitar, but as expected, she instantly started backing out of it-") Ma-san intrudes explaining the situation, only for her to be intruded upon.

"I-In fear that I w-wouldn't be a good t-teacher!"

Ma-san huffs ("Yeah...in fear of that...totally…")

"Aw Lammy! You didn't have to be afraid of that! You make a great teacher, no matter the task!"

"H-Heh...thanks…" _Phew…_

("Barf…") _Figures brainless would believe spineless...ugh...what do I see in him again?_

"I wouldn't say it if it weren't true! And hey Ma-san? What's with the bandage on your dynamite?"

("Huh? Oh this. I uh...figured that it might help seeing as my fuse is kaput and all...")

"I'm sure you're fiiiiiiiine Ma-san! But that aside, if anything that does make it look-"

("Ridiculous? Stupid? Pointless?")

"Well no...I was gonna say adorable. In a...funny out of character type of way."

("Ah...of course…") _Oh yeah…you endearing piece of-_

"A-Anyway! I t-think I'm just gonna h-head to my room! Not l-like I can teach y-you anyway! Y-You didn't get a g-guitar."

"I did actually. It's right over there behind you!"

"Wha-" She turns and stares directly at the new guitar. The body is black and orange, while the neck is red with pink and the head is blue and purple "Oh…" _Huh...he has nice tastes in guitars…_

("Dude it looks like every decade genre of music barfed all over your guitar…")

"Hehe...yeah it does look the part don't it? But hey! I liked it and therefore I bought it! That's as good a reason as I need!"

Lammy can't help but giggle while Ma-san rolls her eyes, both immediately reply in unison "You are _such_ a dork."

"And I will not deny that!" He crosses his arm "Doesn't mean I won't take a little offense!"

("You are not obligated to take offense to this since you admit you're a big dork.")

"Whatever." He smiles "Anyway, I'd love to take lessons from you Lammy!"

"I-I uh...um…" her hands grab both her guitar and his new one "Guess I'm a new teacher now!"

"Well with me, you usually are!" Parappa's tail ways gleefully until "Hey wait where's Katy?"

"Oh! I got her to go on and thank Leo for the belt she annoyed off of him. It'll probably be a while till she gets back."

("Yeah and I ain't cooking till she's here. So you're gonna have to wait on that.")

"That's fine by me...kinda...wanna wait on eating for a while…"

Both Ma-san and Lammy look at each other before back at him ("What did you do?")

"Something I...rather not explain…just know I'm...full...for lack of a better word..."

("Uh huh…") Ma-sans glare drills it's way into his psyche.

"I'm ok! Look I ate beforehand and now I'm kinda...wanting to stray away from eating for a bit…" Ma-san's glare refuses to cease, causing him to lose his balance "I-I'm serious!...it was jus-"

("Stop. Your face is getting purple so I get what you're trying to hide.")

"I-I don't get it...w-what happened?..."

("Don't worry. It's nothing bad. He'll probably need to wait a while till his guts ready to accept food again.")

"Y-Yeah what Ma-san said! I'm good soooo, no need to worry over me!"

"..." Lammy simply ruffles her hair in confusion "Alright. Well if you wanna start your lessons just pick a room for us to practice in I guess."

"Oh! Well you were trying to catch me by surprise in my room so why not there still?"

"Seems good." Lammy walks into his bedroom carrying both guitars.

Parappa immediately scuttles next to Ma-san and whispers to her " _Thanks so much for not saying it out loud!"_

("You really shouldn't be thanking me for that. Katy filled me in on the story of your little…'accident' when you trying to impress that daisy gal way back when.") She shoves him towards his room ("While it is gross, i'm curious as to what the hell you did to be in that situation _again_.")

"Eheh...eating binge initiation with PJ to welcome Matt to the Cafe…I may have gotten just a tad competitive with PJ...just a smidge..."

("You are such an idiot…") as she shrugs she slightly smiles ("But I guess I am to after what me and Paula got everyone into. Now get in there and learn how to play your new guitar already!") She gives him a swift kick that sends him flying into his room.

Parappa plucks his face of the ground and looks over to Lammy "Hope I'm not a pain to teach!"

She tosses his guitar towards him after he gets up, a grin plastered onto her face "You'll be fine. Just try to not get left behind in my dust from awe.~"

Parappa holds his guitar in a position similar to how she's doing "So that's what you expect of me eh?~ I'll be sure to surpass your expectations!~"

"Puh-lease, you're jamming in my field now!~"

"Then let's rock Jammer Lammy!"

"It's on Parappa the Rapper!"

Ma-san shakes her head with a deflated chuckle as she listens to the two from outside the room ("I swear you two are so alike at times it's ridiculous.") she leans on the wall with a fake sigh as she listens to their playing.

* * *

"Ok...so Leo should be here...but he's not...great…" Katy slams her head on the steering wheel causing the horn to blast out "Ughhhhh...just how long am I expected to wait…" _Of course he's busy once I'm being forced to thank him…_

A car pulls up to the front of the club, alerting Katy. After a bit comes out PJ and Leo.

Leo collapses onto his knees once he's out "Ohhh...why must you accelerate so much when driving..."

"It's natural to me, besides I do it in a way where I'm still being safe on the road."

"But not the people riding with you...oh i'm gonna be sick…" He dizzily gets back up, trying to remove his helmet until PJ stops him.

"I think you have company so you might wanna hold off on taking this off."

"Huh?..." They both look towards the van as Katy hops out "It's Katy! Why is she here?"

"I would say that she'd also want driving lessons, but she already knows how to drive."

"Don't even joke about that…" His helmet emits a sweatdrop as PJ chuckles.

Katy walks up to them with smoke emerging from her head as she approaches Leo angrily "Where were you?! I've been waiting all this time to say thanks to you!" She begins flailing her arms aggressively towards him as he tries to block the hits.

"Say thanks?! Then why are you trying to hit me!..."

"Say thanks for what?" PJ's voice causes Katy to stop trying to smack Leo as she turns her attention to him.

"PJ? Why are you here?"

"I believe I asked a question first."

"Well I wanted to thank him for the special belt he gave me yesterday." She creates a Katy clone that points to herself

" _I'm the reason it's special!"_

PJ simply lifts his shades to stare at the second Katy then to Leo "You gave her something that does THAT?"

"I said I would think it over! But she wouldn't stop asking, so I gave it to her so that she would stop asking…"

"Why am I not surprised…" He lowers his shades then looks back to the original Katy "Well I'm here for the driving lessons."

"Oh riiiiight...Leo did bring that up before we went to that place in the pond."

"Did he now? Well he was still making good on that, and as for you. Aren't you gonna say your thanks?"

"Oh right. Thanks for the belt, it occurred to me that I may have forgotten to thank you when you first gave me it."

"Oh that's fine...you were rather distracted by it. Sorry for making you wait."

"It's fine now. Had I remembered that you were helping PJ, I wouldn't have gotten upset over wait...or you know...not waited at all and only arrived till you were done!"

"I suppose so…" Leo looks towards PJ.

"Don't look at me. You know very well you 'owe' me the 'time'."

"...Yeah...I knowwwwww…" Katy's tail bends into a question mark as she looks at the two talk between each other before Leo continues on "Well...I can't exactly return the time you waited for...but I can try to make up for it if you like?"

"Make up how?"

"Well since I'm done with PJ's lessons for today."

"I didn't say we were done for to-"

" _Since_ I'm _**done**_ with PJ's lessons for **today.** "

"Ok. We're done for today." PJ throws his arms to the air as he heads back to the car.

"Want me to take you along the town for the night? I feel like I owe a lot more than that, but it's what I can offer for now." He taps his helmet "I will have to take PJ along with us since I'm his ride back home though."

Katy's tongue sticks out as she begins thinking. Eventually she snaps her fingers causing the clone Katy to vanish "Can we do that tomorrow morning?"

"Oh...uh...why?"

"Well the shop I work at is closing for a bit of maintenance all day tomorrow. However It's gonna be dull since Ma-san and Parappa have something to do and Lammy seems to wanna do something else as well. So I'm gonna be bored out of my mindddddd by myself. Ya dig?"

"I mean...that's rather unconventional-"

"You offered!"

"Yeah...yeah I know…" A loading bar appears on his helmet before an error takes over "Ok! Then I guess my offer is for the morning! The scenery stays the same here regardless cuz...you know...no sunlight!"

"How does everyone here deal with that? Isn't sunlight kinda...you know...heavily needed?"

"You say that as if everyone stays here. This big ol town is more of a tourist attraction if anything! Ironically people who live here go elsewhere for tourist traps!" a smiling emoji appears on his mask "That's not to say this place is bad to be in! The houses here are equipped with a source of light equivalent to sunlight so that the daily people get used to the actual sun as well as get what they need!" His smile turns to a frown "Of course...my place isn't outfitted as such…"

"Why not?"

"Because I live…" He grabs her by the hand and pulls her to an angle that can see what's behind his club. He points to a tall building, bigger than his club as it breached the sky! "There...the place so kindly gave me the...top floor…so I get the luxury of sun directly in my face at all times in the morning and afternoon..."

"Yeesh that...sounds like it sucks a lot…"

"You have NO idea…" He shrugs "But I learnt to live with it. Anyway alrighty! Just give me a call over when you want to actually start the apology trip."

"Will do!" She walks off to her van as PJ walks up to Leo again.

"Well that was awfully nice of you."

"She's partially my mom. It's kinda in my blood to be a good boy. Same goes for the other gals. Does make sense though since I am part dog."

"What you didn't inherit from Parappa in appearance you inherited in heart it seems." He chuckles.

"Whatever _**Uncle PJ**_ , so you wanted to chat?" He puts so much emphasis on calling out his uncle.

"Yeah. Let's head inside." Both of them head into the club, but as the door closes Katy's ear twitches in the distance.

"Uncle PJ?..." She slides into the driver's seat of her van "Why would he call him that?..." she shakes her head to get the thought out "Maybe I misheard him...oh forget the what if's! I gotta get home now!" She quickly drives off.

* * *

As Katy pulls up to the outside of her home, she notices a group people outside cheering towards a window, even the neighbors "What's going on?..." She forces her way through the crowd, and the second she opens the door the other people try to get in "H-Hey!...no intruding in our place!..." she closes the door and immediately locks it "Sheesh it's not even that fancy an apartment…" she heads upstairs and upon opening the door she immediately calls out "Hey guys i'm here i'm sorry I was waiting for Le-...guys?" She hears weak guitar playing from Parappa's room. Ma-san stands by the window where the crowds cheering can be heard.

("Bout time you came back.") She huffs ("You missed quite the performance I gotta say.")

"Performance?" Ma-san replies by tilting her head towards Parappa's room to which Katy goes towards. She opens the door and pokes her head in "Hello?..." She sees both Parappa and Lammy as they can barely hold the guitars in their hands. Lammy's hands cramp up from the overuse and the blisters, but they refuse to let go of the guitar. Parappa's bandages have been entirely worn away from the constant strumming of the guitar, he barely keeps a good grip on it as his hands tremble from exhaustion, but they also refuse to drop the guitar "What the hell happened here?..."

"H-Haaa...you can't...hold it right anymore!...I win!..."

"Y-Yeah right...you can't...even strum yours...anymore!...so...I-I win!..."

"Neither of you won anything! You both look like your arms are gonna fall right off!"

("If anything, I'd say the crowd won.") As Ma-san says this, both Parappa and Lammy look at her.

"C-Crowd?..." as they say this in unison Ma-san motions them towards the window. When they walk over to it, they see the massive flood of people that gathered around. Said crowd immediately cheers once they see the guitars in their hands seeing that they're the source of the music.

"Wow...to think we attracted this crowd with that lesson turn standoff…"

"E-Eheh…" Lammy turns to Parappa "Wanna...call it even?..."

Parappa nods as he holds his arm out "For now, but once I learn to play. We'll be at it again!"

Lammy grins as she grabs his hand "You're on!" Both immediately let go as they hold their own hands in pain, forgetting how weakened they were.

("Pride above pain, that's both honorable and stupid.")

"Oh boy...Mind filling me in on what happened as I help patch up their hands Ma-san?"

Ma-san shrugs with a sly grin ("Sure, anything to recall what happened. Moxie was certainly high I can tell you that right off the bat.")

"I can tell after witnessing this…" She pushes the two along "Come on you two…"

After a bit of cooling down and explaining, Katy merely groans at the situation that took place prior.

"Y-Yeah we may have g-gotten out of hand...just a bit…"

"A bit? Lammy you drew in a crowd!"

"Well there's nothing wrong with that. Doesn't she generally do that? Don't ALL of you generally do that?"

"That's when we play together as a band purposefully! Not trying to attract a mob of fans or paparazzi to our home!" Parappa flinches as Katy shouts at him.

"Yeep...yeah….that would explain why you guys picked such a quiet, out of the way neighborhood…"

"Well...it's not like we didn't expect this to eventually happen...but it would've been nice to go a little longer without the overbearing clamoring. Gotta keep a quiet normal life from time to time you know? Can't ALWAYS have the hussle and bussle."

"Yeah I understand you. And I...erm...apologize...it's mainly my fault since I got the guitar and everything… Lammy wouldn't have offered if that weren't the case."

"Yeah...Lammy told me earlier today you wanted a guitar...why though? You never really had interest in one ever since the Guiro incident."

"Guiro incident?" Lammy tilts her head in confusion as she stares at Parappa.

"A-Ahaha...yeah a funny thing that happened...thanks to PJ…" he frowns but immediately regains his composure "But that's not the point! The guitar was...for uh...something I wanted in particular!"

"What an out of the blue urge…"

"Hahaha…y-you know me!...Always out there!..." He struggles to maintain eye contact.

"Right...well. I gotta say, I must've missed one hell of a guitar off!" She smiles before grinning mischievously "For something that was supposed to be a simple teaching process. It sure became quite a duo dessert!"

"I-It wasn't anything l-like that...j-just me g-getting a competitive streak is a-all." She buries her face in her hands.

"Whatever it was Lammy, I still did learn quite a bit as I was doing my best to catch up."

("And judging by the crowd, I'd say you caught up quite quickly.")

"Psshh. Nah. I don't think I could've caught up THAT easily to her. She's still leagues above me." he rests his hands on his hips with a smile, as he praises his new teacher.

Katy chimes in "You're such a dork, you know that?"

"I've been told."

"I'm sure you have. Now come on Ma-san! Let me help you cook due to taking so long to get back!"

("Ain't saying no to help!") They both head off as Parappa walks up to Lammy.

"Hey, thanks for all this. It honestly caught me off guard that you offered to help on the fly. You even tried to make it like that of a surprise party!"

"H-Hehe...yeah...I guess it, I dunno, made me happy to hear you wanted a guitar?..." She bashfully rubs her shoulder "Something in me just...wanted to help with that…"

"Well I'm glad!" _The dream person didn't tell me that I couldn't LEARN how to play the guitar. For all I know it's probably a requirement!_ "I'd be glad if you can continue to teach me after we eat! Hopefully it won't end up another competition." he shrugs "I wouldn't mind if it did though, just gotta be gentle on our hands!"

She perks up instantly "I-I'd be glad to!..." She smiles in a way that makes his heart skip a beat "It'd be nice to have another instrument player here!...but uh...think you can help me with my singing? I wanna...be able to sing like you and Katy...but everytime I try with Katy I just get super panicky because I think about MilkCan and worry over me singing horribly on stage…"

"I'd be glad to, as I'm sure you'd be great! Although you don't really need help since you're already such a fantastic singer!" He pats her on the back "Of course I'll still help if you really want me to!" They both simply smile and nod at each other.

After the four of them eat, Katy decides to ask Lammy what it was she had planned for tomorrow before she went off to teach Parappa some more "So Lammy, what was it that you were gonna do tomorrow?"

"O-Oh!...right!...that…" She takes a deep breath before turning to Parappa. She tries to force out words as her mouth struggles to open. Eventually she shouts out "P-PARAPPA W-WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE F-FOR ME TO ACCOMPANY YOU O-ON YOUR LITTLE F-FAMILY OUTING!..." She closes her eyes and tilts her head down as she tries to avoid looking at him, knowing his reply would be a no. She however is surprised once he speaks up.

"Sure! I don't think my dad or Pinto would mind!"

She raises her head back up as she stares at him "Are you s-sure?..."

"Of course I am! The more the merrier is something my dad would say when it comes to inventions!"

Lammy simply smiles widely with glee "O-Ok!"

Ma-san and Katy only stare at the duo with their mouths open.

" _Huh...guess she does have a spine. Where the heck has it been then all this time?!"_

" _W-Wow...she made a move like that so easily… Why didn't I think of doing that?!..."_

Parappa notices the two of them and speaks up again "What's up? You two wanna come as well?" They quickly snaps themselves out of it.

("Sorry, no can do. Gotta work and all. Papa-Ma's still kinda miffed, what with me being gone for a week with no form of communication.")

"I'd love to!" _But then I'd just be a third wheel...and clearly Lammy's trying so hard to start something...ARGH...be the bigger person...you have been helping her more than yourself after all_ "But I can't either." Katy struggles to think up an excuse until she recalls what she and Leo agreed on "Leo's gonna be showing me all around Neon Heights all day tomorrow!"

"He is?" The trio say as they look at her.

"Yep. Said he wanted to make up for causing me to wait so long for him to get back when I was trying to thank him. And this was the best he can try to do! Of course he is still adding on once we actually are going about."

("Wow. A famous celeb offering to take you around one hell of a town. Must be a dream for him given how much of a fanboy he is.")

"Well yeah. But he was rather calm and not fanboying as he offered. Showing that he was serious that it was mostly for an apology. Which is respectable! He's been raised well is all I can say on it!" Katy then sneezes as a sense of irony seems to faze by her, much to her confusion.

("Of course there's also the possibility that he's making it a date.") Parappa's ear twitches as Ma-san brings that up ("I mean, think about it. A town bathing in neon lights. The town itself is always cascaded by night, allowing for the lights to just shine on, in what most would consider a romantic environment.")

A wave a jealousy slowly enters Parappa's psyche "I doubt it's that Ma-san, Leo doesn't seem like the type to WANT to date yet!"

("While his lifestyle choices are sporadic to a point that what you say may be true, you also have to take into account how much of a fan he was. Now recall this. When you hit it big and some of your female fans managed to spend some time with you, what was their first innate instinct?")

"...To hit on me… So much so that I needed to have Sunny next to me at all times just to get them to buzz off…"

("Bingo. Who's to say this isn't his attempt?") She shakes her head ("It's probably a sly tactic that he had in sto-") Ma-san is clocked on the head by Katy ("OW!")

"While you do make a valid point Ma-san. Leo doesn't seem like the type to do that. Honestly he seems to give off a weird...familial air? I dunno. I can't put my finger on it…" She sneezes again "Blegh...point is. That doesn't seem like his goal. He really is just being a bro about it and trying to make up for his mistakes, whether they were warranting a big flashy apology or not. Kinda like...a dog trying to be a good boy! Or a son trying to apologize to his mother after messing up big time!" Katy is now in a sneezing fit, once she stops she growls in anger "WHAT'S WITH MY NOSE?!" She immediately places a close pin over it "It's not like there's pollen or anything that I'm allergic to nearby!..."

Lammy hands her a box of tissues "Maybe someone's talking about you?...T-They say you s-sneeze a lot when you're being talked a-about behind your b-back…" She then scratches her ear "Or irony...when you talk about something that's more under your nose than you think...of course I don't think it's the second thing. So...I hope whoever's talking about you is at least talking about nice things…"

"Same here...although I rather they stop talking about me in general…" Katy then growls lightly "It's probably my mom and dad...blegh…" She stands up "I'm heading to my room for the night. You two try not to keep the lessons going on for to long alright? Not just because Parappa needs to maintain his sleep order for his body's sake, but because you two _will_ be going to an expo early in the morning after all."

"Right!" The duo say in unison.

"Good. Night you three." she walks off.

"N-Night Katy!"

"G'night Ka-" Ma-san abruptly speaks up to taunt Katy again, cutting Parappa off.

("Have fun on your date tomorrow!") She begins laughing heavily ("Try not to do anything to craz-") Parappa instinctively flicks her on the back of the head ("OW WHAT'S WITH THE TWO OF YOU?!")

"Katy herself said it's _not_ a date."

("I'd expect to hear that from Katy herself, but what got your panties in a knot mutt?")

"Nothing! I'm just saying that it's not a date is all!" He crosses his arms.

Ma-san's sly smile returns ("What are you? Jealous or something?~")

"Don't be ridiculous!...I just...know how annoying the topic can be when it comes to fans that pester you over it!"

Ma-san laughs. _He's totally jealous._ ("Right. Alright. You have a point and I apologize! Just go enjoy your lessons already!")

"I **will!** " He gets up with gusto "Let's go then Lammy!"

"U-Uh...right!..." She glances between the two of them. _What...the heck just happened?..._

As Ma-san watches the duo head off out of sight, she rolls her eyes. _Would you look at that Katy? The mutt got jealous over you! If that ain't a sign that he's got some interest in you, then I dunno what is with him! Oh wait till I tell you about this!_ She hops off her chair and heads over to Katy's room.

Meanwhile with Parappa and Lammy.

"Parappa...a-are you ok? You seem a-a bit...upset…"

"Huh?...Oh! Yeah I'm fine. I dunno just Ma-san's teasing got to me is all. I'll get over it!"

"You s-sure?"

"Yeah! No worries! Now before you start my next lesson, let me call my dad to tell him that you'll be comin with!"

"G-Good idea!..."

As Parappa scrolls around to get to his dad's number, he can't help but get lost in his thoughts. _It's not a date...Leo's just being a bro...like Katy said… Why do I care so much over this?..._ He is snapped out of it by his dad's voice, who he managed to call subconsciously "O-Oh! Hi dad! Look I kinda gotta tell you something!"

 _Tomorrow's gonna have a lot going on...What's gonna happen at the expo?...What's gonna happen with Katy?...What's...gonna happen here?... Guess I just gotta wait and see…_

 _A/N_

 _Hoo boy this was a doozy to write out due to complications, but I managed! It's come to my knowledge that I'm terrible at hiding the obvious future. By this point it's obvious that he'll end up with Lammy as I suck at splitting suspense! But despite the future being known, doesn't stop me from trying to maintain the suspense. After all it's not like you know WHEN he'll hook up with Lammy, only me! And for you to find out, ya gotta wait! Until next time!_


	15. I wanna know more about you!

The quartet simply finish breakfast and immediately exchange their words of encouragement as they slowly walk towards the stairway door.

("You three enjoy yourselves!")

"You sure you can't convince your dad to let you go with either of us?"

("I could. I COULD do that, but is it worth going through his elongated spiel over the importance of communication? Nuh uh, I'll take my lumps thank you very much.")

"Well that's about as grown up a response as we'll get from her."

("Sticks and stones.")

"Whatever. Well Lammy! Hope you and Parappa enjoy yourselves while you learn about the nerd gear!"

"It's not nerd gear Katy!"

"Of course _you_ would say that, you're a nerd! It's in your blood!"

"Just because I come from a lineage of inventors doesn't make me a nerd...d-does it?"

"I h-honestly don't mind...i-it'd be nice to learn about technological t-things...w-who knows. Maybe y-you'll be the next b-big name to join t-them with mind blowing i-inventions…"

"You think? Parappa the inventor...doesn't have that same ring to it...But i'll still give it a go! After all that's why I decided to go with my dad in the first place! Aside from...you know...trying to apologize to my family for being a menial shut in for a year."

"I know y-you'll get the i-inspiration you n-need!...But why b-bring the guitar?..."

"Oh uh... "

"Yeah why **are** you gonna take that with you?"

"Just...because…"

("Just let him. Maybe he just wants to show off to his dad and sis.") Ma-san scoffs ("I tell ya, they just learn how to play and already they're off thinking they can perform like an angel!") She turns her back, snickering below her breath.

"P-Parappa isn't l-like that!...Right?..."

"Uh…" _well that reason IS technically more sensible than just saying 'a girl in my dreams told me to!' Of course that isn't really saying much…Alright lemme fix this…_ "I...had…" He sighs "A weird dream…One where this weird...enigmatic person appeared in it...she was in a rather...sorry state..."

("Weird dream?")

"Enigmatic person?"

"S-She?..."

"Yeah...see...she's...actually a real person! Apparently...I made contact with THEIR subconscious in the dreamscape and well...She wants uh...help."

"H-Help? With w-what exactly?"

"That's...the thing...she didn't specify...only told me that I would need a guitar to start the process of helping."

"That clarifies nothing."

"You're telling me. She said that the guitar was apparently meant to 'get through her thick skull'? From that point onwards it's on me with what I need to do to help her. Thing is I don't know WHO she is or WHERE she'll be…"

("So long story short, you plan on carrying that thing around until you find this chick and help her?")

"Well it's not like I could say no! Dream or not, she's still a person in need of help!"

"Parappa…" Katy sighs "You do realize that you maybe...DREAMT it all up? Because this WAS all a dream after all… For all you know, this girl doesn't even exist!"

"I thought so to! But she spoke rather...out of line for a dream...it was all serious...and sad...And she looks...so familiar…Maybe it's a friend I made and they're in need of big help!...I just gotta do this!" As he says this, Lammy recalls what he said to her the morning prior.

 _Say...you uh...don't need help with anything...guitar related by any chance do you?_

 _Could he have dreamt about...no...no that's crazy...then...maybe he dreamt about me? I don't need help...or...was it my feelings subconsciously reaching him?...It did make me really happy when he said he wanted a guitar…_ Her eyes turn to spirals as her face glows red "O-Oh maaaaan…"

"Lammy you aight? You ain't lookin to good…"

"H-Huh?...OH!" she quickly tries to calm down "Yes! I w-will be! E-Especially now!" _Definitely now. This means that me asking to tag along WILL actually lead to something!...I hope...please tell this will end well for me…_

"I still have my doubts Parappa...but I can't stop you from taking the guitar-"

Lammy quickly intervenes "I'll t-take mine as well!"

"...Why?..."

"I c-can give him a f-few extra l-lessons along the drive t-to the place!..."

"You are encouraging...nevermind. Fine just...try not to let that get in the way of Parappa and his family's trip."

"I w-won't!"

"It will all be fine Katy!" Parappa starts strumming his guitar, creating a gentle melody.

"Good!" Her phone vibrates "Oh! That's Leo! Gotta go!"

Ma-san takes her opportunity to spark some more fun ("Enjoy your _date!_ ") The gentle melody quickly spikes down into a scratchy mess, similar to nails on a chalkboard. Ma-san mentally fist bumps. _Booyah! Katy should've definitely noticed that!_

"Parappa? You alright?" Katy quickly turns to face him. He simply stares at the ground as his hands tightly clutch the guitar, any tighter and he would either snap the strings or the entire neck of the thing.

"...Yeah...I'm good...just uh...fingers still...sensitive from last night is all…"

"Really? You were playing such a nice tune then all of a sudden-"

"I'm **GOOD**! Everything's **GOOD**!" His head forces itself upright as a very fake smile grows on his face. He speaks through his teeth as to maintain the smile "Have. Fun. On. Your. Date!…"

Her ear twitches "Yeah...I uh...will. It's not a date though." She laughs awkwardly "Anywhoooo...I should go! Later you guys! Have fun with your respective time passers!" She bolts out the door and out the exit.

"U-Uh...Parappa...M-Mind easing up on y-your guitar?...Y-You'll break it if y-you hold it like t-that for much l-longer…" Lammy says as she tries to get him to calm down.

"Yeah...you got a point there...I'll just...ease...up…" His fingers begrudgingly peel off from the guitar neck, as if they were rusty hinges that went without oil for ages.

"Y-You feeling ok y-yourself Parappa?..."

"I'll be fine...just...need to get my mind off of things…"

("While you do that Mutt, I really should be heading off now. So you two try to enjoy yourselves! Be on the lookout for dream chicks in need of guitars!") She cackles as she walks down the stairs and is seen through the window heading down the street.

"We should probably wait outside as well. My dad will be here soon to pick us up."

"R-Right!" She taps her fingers "Y-You...gonna need a-any help c-calming down?..."

He takes a deep breath to calm down, her words bringing him back to a neutral state of mind "I'll be fine Lammy, but thanks for the offer!" this time he smiles sincerely as he grabs her hand and tugs on it "Well come on. Can't just wait up here!"

"R-Right!...h-heh…"

As the duo head outside, they spot Katy speaking to Leo while in his car.

"You're gonna be needing these." Leo hands Katy some dark sunglasses.

"But isn't the place we're going to completely void of sunlight? Why do I need the shades?"

"Ohoho trust me...the neon lights may be pretty, but the deeper in town we go, the stronger they get. And boy howdy will they burn off your retinas if you're not careful."

"Yeesh, how do you deal with that?"

"You get used to it. Of course I also have this helmet." He laughs to himself as Katy notices Lammy and Parappa, she waves goodbye to them as Leo begins driving off, only to see Parappa merely eye Leo with a smile that gave a heavy air of passive aggression. Once they were out of sight and hearing, Leo tries to speak up, only to nearly have his ears blown out by Katy squealing in delight "Well now I'm gonna need some context…"

"He got JEALOUS! Over me being with another guy! Can you believe that?!~"

"I'm sorry what."

"Parappa! He is super jealous!"

"That explains the feeling of murder and death I felt off of him...but why though?"

"He thinks we're on a date and that must've triggered something in him!"

"But this isn't a date though…"

"That's what I told him! But I guess Ma-san's teasing jokes might've been taken a bit to far that now he thinks otherwise! Last night she told me that she noticed him get jealous, but I didn't believe her. Now after WITNESSING it…" she trails off as her tail curls into a heart.

Leo chuckles "Well, it's nice to see you so happy over a rather inconvenient way of finding out your crush is even more into you than you thought." A frown appears on his helmet screen "I just wish I wasn't the guinea pig that invoked his anger…"

"Oh come on it's not like Parappa's the kind of guy to assault another one over something like that...I think~..."

"Hey there. My safety with the truth matters more than your wacky ways of finding out just how much he's into you."

"Relax~...This was enough to lift my spirits up…~ After what happened last night…"

"That being?"

"Well Lammy out of the blue asked to tag along with him on his trip to a science expo!"

"That's today?! I erm...mean...really now?"

She looks at him with a questioning gaze, but quickly gets over it "Yeah...and he said yes. And that really just...hit me hard…"

"Why didn't you just ask to join them?..."

"Because...Lammy worked her courage to the max just to ask him...She clearly wants to start something...and...if I go as the third wheel she won't do anything…" She reels back as realization hits her face "Oh no…"

"What now?"

"He does have some emotions for me...but also her...ugh...this is hard… A lot of good having a chance is when she has just as big a chance…"

"Why not strike while the iron's hot then?"

"And intervene on something Lammy's trying to do on her own?! Hell no! I'd never forgive myself!..."

"Fair enough, just try when you can."

"Who knows when that will be…"

* * *

Parappa and Lammy watch as Katy drives off with Leo.

"L-Lammy…"

"What?..."

"I change my mind...I think I will need your help c-calming down…" Parappa's eye twitches uncontrollably, like a malfunctioning machine.

"R-Right!" She ponders at what to do until her instincts innately kick in. She wraps him in a tight hug, as much as she wants to slink away from doing so. She can't help herself, and luckily, neither can he.

Parappa returns the hug as he starts calming down, his tail wagging with glee. "Thanks~..." _Nothing beats a great hug from a dear friend and a pretty girl~...wait...what was that last part?_ Before he can fully question himself Lammy speaks up.

"No problem~...Glad that it worked!..." She tries to let go, but Parappa refuses.

"A bit longer please?..." He stares with sad puppy eyes.

"...Ok." _Who could say no to a face like that? Not like he needed the face to convince me to not let go~..._

After a while of waiting, Parappa's dad eventually arrives. To which they break the hug.

"Well you ready to go?"

"O-Of course! I just hope they aren't u-upset with me intruding on w-what was basically a family only outing…"

"Please! My family would never! My dad was ecstatic to have you along! I'm sure Pinto is the same!"

The door to the car opens up, Papa Rappa waves to them to come in. From the inside of the car he along with Pinto are seen, but there is also another guest with it being Guru Ant.

"Guru! Why are you here?" Before Parappa can get an answer, his father intervenes.

"He's back to staying with us again and he offered to help as an exchange for staying with us."

"But I thought you and Takoyama were living together? Did you two hit rocky waters?"

Guru immediately waves his arms in defense "No maaaan...TK-YO kinda messed up and now the place needs renovatin...So in the meanwhile we can't be there what with it bein kinda...blown up…"

"What d-did Takoyama-san d-do?..." Lammy says wary of the octopus hairdressers ecstatic streak.

"All you really need to know is that he got...way to into the groove...and before you knew it, the place was a wreck...At least he still has a backup home. It's a really small place though so I couldn't tag along with. And the only other place I really know of was technically your place. After all, when I was small I kinda just stayed around with no one really noticing. Can't really do that since I'm BIG now…so rather than just bum about for free, I figured I'd help your dad. Course I forgot he creates a lot of wild things that pose a rather incredible risk to my health…" He shakes his head "But I already offered so, what can you do. It guarantees a roof over my head till this all gets resolved. Besides, I missed you guys, you're like a second family to me."

He wasn't wrong, after the whole noodle incident, shrinking Guru Ant was a rather...puzzling task. The device that Papa Rappa had that caused the whole size predicament in the first place met it's untimely demise at the hands of a overused remote. And trying to recreate it wasn't exactly a simple process. To a point that the attempt was given up. Guru Ant had to adjust to his new life. And so he stayed at the Rappa household, seeing as it's where he was to begin with, and just integrated himself into their life. He became that of an older brother/Uncle figure to Parappa and Pinto and it stayed that way until he and Takoyama hit it off. It was rather unexpected, but heartwarming nonetheless. Eventually he moved out because of it and it was a rather upsetting moment for the Rappa siblings, so seeing him back again is a rather exciting thing, but also a shocking one for Parappa.

"Well it's nice to see you again nonetheless because the feeling is mutual!"

"I'm glad, now you two get in! We are in a rather hurried moment aren't we?"

"O-Oh right!" Both Lammy and Parappa hop into the car.

The drive was as long as they expected, but it certainly wasn't monotonous as the two older adults talked between themselves while the two young adults sat in the back with Pinto. Pinto had chosen to sit directly in between the two of them however, cutting off any chance Lammy had at making advances "Um...Pinto...missed your bro?..."

"Yes." The response was quick, flat and sharp. All the things pointing to one obvious thing, Pinto was not happy with Lammy.

Lammy simply recoils in her seat as her arms wrap around her stomach. Parappa notices this and tries to chime in "Lammy yooooou...feeling alright?"

"Oh, I guess I could be better…"

"What's wrong?..."

"N-Nothing!...Just a little...anxious is all...the usual…"

"...Mind givin me another lesson about now?..."

"S-Sure!" As Lammy replies she begins sensing a sharp burning gaze looking at her. She doesn't look towards the source, she already knows who it is. She struggles to keep her composure "B-But maybe not right n-now? H-Heh…"

"Nonsense! Wouldn't hurt!" He grabs his guitar "Let's go!"

Lammy swallows roughly "O-Ok…"

Before Parappa gets to pluck a chord, Pinto tugs on his arm "Hey bro?"

"What is it?"

"Why didn't Katy choose to join us?..." Pinto's words cause an emotional dagger to jab itself into Lammy's heart.

 _That explains the hostility...makes sense...Katy is like her sister figure given their history...to a point it would make sense that she would want her actual brother and her to be together…_ Lammy whimpers. _What's worse is that Katy doesn't even feel that way about Parappa!...if she found that out she'd be heartbroken...and probably blame me…that's a terrifying thought. Luckily she won't find out about th-_

Parappa's hands tightly coil around the guitar neck once more "Oh...she's...gone with...another friend to enjoy the day…"

Lammy flinches. _Oh no..._

"Another friend?..."

"Yes...one we met...at a new club we went to...he decided to take Katy to traverse the town over…"

"He?..."

"Yes...so she agreed...and are currently at their date…" The final sentence mortifies Pinto as multiple thoughts begin entering her head, shattering a collection of happier thought she created involving a future with the two people she'd hope would get together. With this new, albeit incredibly incorrect info, Pinto began panicking on the spot until she squeals in devastation before collapsing onto her seat. Her eyes faded and a comical little spirit version of her leaving her mouth, signifying that she was out cold. This turns Parappa's resentment and anger over Leo into worry over his little sister "P-Pinto?!..." He drops his guitar.

Papa Rappa quickly calls out "Everything alright back there?..."

Parappa fumbled with what to tell him, but before he could even try, Lammy spoke up for him "Nothing Mr. Rappa! Pinto just fell asleep! And…she looked so adorable I just couldn't contain the squealing!..." _Hopefully that was believable…_

"Oh...well alright then carry on! But uh...try to keep the squealing down? Kinda need my ears drums to not be blown out while I'm driving..."

"Will do!...S-Sorry Sir!..." After he quiets down, Lammy turns her head to Parappa and Pinto.

"W-What happened?!...Why did she just up and faint!..."

 _Oh you lovable ignorant goof…_ "I...couldn't tell you if I knew!...which I don't!...All I do know is that she'll be fine...she won't be happy, but she will at least be ok…"

"Oh man...maybe it was something I said?..." He quickly gasp "D-Do you think she picked up that I was upset over a friend and that got to her? Because I'm usually NEVER upset at a friend!...And that triggered bad flashbacks!"

 _How is THAT a conclusion you reach?! Wait...upset over a friend?...Leo or Katy? Why?_ "Upset over who?..."

"Oh it doesn't matter now! Not anymore at least! I can't be letting things like this get to me! Otherwise I'd just be back at square one." He whimpers "i'm sorry Pinto...Big brother should've known better…"

 _I don't know who to feel bad over more...Parappa or Pinto..._ "Well...while I don't think that's the case, it's good that you caught yourself and are now putting an end to it before it became an actual problem." _Doesn't exactly do much for Pinto, but I'm sure she'll get over it once she figures out they're not really dating. Now how am I gonna cheer YOU up now though?_ She closes her eyes until it hits her. _Well...Pinto is out for the count...making this a lot more easier…_ "Hey Parappa?...Still want those lessons?...It might help you ease up for the remainder of the ride."

"...Yeah, that'd be nice…" He picks up his guitar "Know any nice uplifting beats?"

"Do I! This is me you're talking to. You should know that I have ways to help myself calm down with a guitar~"

"Heh. Let's have at it then." He glances once more at the knocked out Pinto before they begin to play for the remainder of the ride.

* * *

"And shades on!" Leo announces to Katy so that she can take cover.

"Yikes it really is a luminescent glare." Katy says as she struggles to watch even with the shades on.

"Told you. And at the same time it's still quite dark. And it's not even noon yet!"

"I can see that…" She looks around the sides of the car "Soooo...what's there to do here?"

"You name it. This place prides itself on having the most out there things you can ask for. If you got a specific yet ridiculous request. Chances are, this place can hook you up."

"Really?..." Katy looks up to the non visible sky "Hm...place got a roller rink?"

"Didn't peg you as someone who'd be into that."

"You wouldn't be the first to say that." She smiles "Well?"

"Yes it does!" He makes a quick left turn before parking outside a building adorned with blue neon lights "And it's right here!"

"Huh. Convenient. So anything I should be aware of doing or not doing?"

"Just enjoy yourself. That applies to every place here!"

"Anything to expect?"

"Just expect a lot of cheesy music to be blasted. As well as people who never skated in their life acting like they're born professionals."

"So a classic rink feel. Phew." She claps "Well, no point standing outside! Let's go!" She grabs Leo and drags him in.

The duo quickly rent out their skates and waste no time getting into the main point of the place, the rink itself.

"WOOHOO!" Katy leaps into the air with a triple spin before landing flawlessly on her feet "Man I haven't been in one of these in like forever! But I still got it~"

"I'd certainly say so, you're catching everyone's eyes!"

"I have that effect on people~"

"Doesn't seem like you have modesty though!"

"A little guilty there~" She twirls "But I mean. I'm not wrong~"

"Ain't denying that. No matter how you perform, it's a treat."

"Thanks doll~" as the duo skate about Katy decides to question Leo "Hey how come you haven't removed your helmet?"

"I've told you, I can't do that."

"But you've clearly done it. How else do you eat?"

"When no one's around."

"But clearly your fans have seen you helmetless, Niles saw you helmetless, and now I'm sure even PJ saw you helmetless."

"E-Eheh...what makes you think PJ saw me…"

"Well when I was waiting for you, I saw you two arrive and you tried to take your helmet off, but PJ stopped you." She huffs "So clearly he's in on it! I wanna know!"

"No."

"Whaaat. Are you ugly or something?" As Katy says this, Leo nearly trips and falls.

"E-Erm...no...i'm not ugly...my mom and aunties told me I was quite the handsome young man...as do the fans who saw me before I donned this headgear."

"Then what's the deal man! Take it off!"

"No, now please stop asking…"

"Fineeeee…" She rolls her eyes. They stay in silence until Katy speaks up yet again "So you were really shocked when you heard about the expo. Why's that?"

This time Leo does collapse onto the ground "Ow…"

"Whoa! You alright?" Katy skates towards him and helps him up.

"Ugh...yeah I'm ok...the helmet helps! And the jacket and jeans I have are well padded!" He taps his shoulder "Still stiffs up my shoulders and back quite a bit though… Anyway, I wasn't shocked! Well...maybe just a little...but it was because-" A spinning hourglass appears on his monitor "I wanted to go there myself! But I guess I forgot when it was…"

Katy crosses her arms as she continues skating while dragging him along with her tail "Your helmet gave away your lies, but whatever…"

The duo skate like professionals compared to everyone else. They leave everyone else in as they glide along the rink in tune with the music that was playing. It began appearing as if they were dancing while the were skating, but whatever it was. It was captivating to all who saw them. After a small while longer, the duo leave the skating rink and are in the car once more "Where to next?..."

"How many places can I choose to go to?"

"As many as you want. The day doesn't end until you want it to."

"Wow really? Man talk about the deluxe pampering treatment."

"Like I said, I owed that much and then some." His helmet emits a thumbs up.

"Well alrighty...before I think up a place I wanna go to...how about we check….Ooooh! That place over there!"

"Uh...you sure?"

"I ask for it, therefore we go to it!" She fists bumps the sky repeatedly.

"Aight…" The duo arrive to the interior of the building Katy chose, walking down a hallway as they near a large door..

"What is this place?"

"The place you decided to go to was a giant amusement playground!" Leo pushes the door open, only for the two to be enveloped with a wave of laughter.

"Wow...look at everything here! Look at those slides! And that humongous jungle gym! It stretches to the roof and goes all the way down there! It's like the length of three football fields and the height of a windmill!" She gasps "Is that a laser tag arena!"

"Uh...yeah?" Leo stares at the girl as she acts like a smitten child who had never seen a playground or amusement park. Or this case a combination of the two "You do realize they have more things here than just the ones you pointed out ri-"

She grabs Leo and drags him along as they head off to the arena. Once they arrive, her joy greatly multiplies "They have set types of it to increase the fun!"

"Uh-huh…"

"There's one where you play as cowboys against outlaws!"

"Katy you're a grown woman…"

"A grown woman who wants to be a cowboy!"

"Wouldn't it be a cowgirl?..."

"I say cowboy, I'm gonna be a cowboy!" Her tail cracks on the ground like a whip.

"Meep!...yes ma'am!..." _Still a child at heart, should've figured as much. She IS the same in the future after all._

Katy uses her tail as a lasso and ensnares Leo as she drags him along "C'mon Pardner! We gotta show y'all how great cowboys are compared to all them yellow bellied convicts!"

"Whoa heyheyheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!"

* * *

Lammy and Parappa stop their playing as the car comes to a halt, immediately they garner applause from Papa Rappa and Guru Ant "That was an ode to the ears you two!"

"Man Parappa, you astound me everytime I see you. Truly mature indeed. But I hope this doesn't mean you're givin up rappin!"

"Of course not! Just learning to play for someone's benefit!"

"Well whoever that person is, they certainly got you to branch out in a great way son!"

"Well honestly I gotta thank Lammy for giving me lessons!"

"O-Oh it's no real b-biggie!...I-I'm sure you'd d-do fine w-without me!..."

"Of course not! When we return home, I gotta make sure I begin helping you gain confidence in your singing!"

"E-Ehehe!...ok!"

Parappa, Guru and Papa Rappa all leave the car. They converse over who'll carry the sleeping Pinto. Lammy was about to do the same but jolts up and flips around when she feels someone tug on her sleeve. When she looks down she sees Pinto awake, but with a sad expression this time.

"At least take care of him…" the small puppy stares at the confused lamb, who only looks in fear of what she would say next.

"W-Wha-"

"You also make him happy...I could hear it in the music...Please don't break his heart like Sunny did…" She hops out of the car, leaving Lammy stunned. She comes to when Parappa calls her over.

"You aight?"

"Yeah! I just...got caught off guard is all…"

"By?..."

"I-It's nothing!" _Just the fact that I think your sis gave me her ok to hook up with you?..._ When you think about, Lammy is right and wrong at the same time.

"Well...if you say so! Come on then, let's head on in! Pinto woke up and got Dad and Guru to move on!"

"R-Right behind y-yo-" Lammy is silence when Parappa grabs a hold of her hand.

"Let's go!" he dashes off, dragging her along.

"S-Slow d-down!..." It wasn't the fact that she couldn't keep up, no her legs could easily keep up and surpass what he was currently running, it was more so the fact that the simple hand holding had removed what little air she had left in her lungs "I-I can walk on my own!..."

Parappa obliges and lets her hand go free "S-Sorry…"

 _Wait!...NO!...darn it!..._ "I mean!...Um…"

He stops and turns to her "Yeah?..." She struggles to lock eyes, it just makes it more difficult to get her point across "You can tug me along...just...um...ask first?"

"Gotcha!..." He extends his hand "Well...may I?..."

"...You may~..." She extends her own hand to which he gently grabs. And rather than pull her along, he slowly guides her to the main area "Honestly you certainly can run with ease, even with pants that sag so much! How do you manage without them sagging constantly?"

"Uh...w-who knows! M-Maybe I just learned how to run better?..." _The real answer is a secret, but I ain't telling anyone that! It's to embarrassing!_ He awkwardly fumbles his free hand around, mustering a halfhearted giggle.

Lammy catches on, but doesn't add on, the way he turned down the question is similar to how she does when she rather not answer either "Ok."

"Yeah- wait huh?..."

"If the real answer is too much to wanna say, then you don't have to say it. I know what it's like to want to keep things to yourself." She feels his grip tighten.

"Thanks, Lammy. It's nice to have someone who doesn't try to get everything out of me!"

"Well I wouldn't want it happening to me! I can only assume you are the same."

He giggles again, this time with actual emotion within it "Well, you'd be correct! Now come on! Let's go see what there is to see in a varied place like this! I already see so many out there inventions! I don't get why my dad didn't bring in anything…"

"Maybe it wouldn't be fair."

"Eh? Whatcha mean?" He stops in place.

"Can't be hogging all the attention!" Both share a laugh.

"When you're right, you're right!"

* * *

"Well pardner, I'd reckon you're a good shot~ Guess that fancy schmancy hat o' yours isn't an obstruction to your vision after all!" Katy tips her hat towards Leo.

"Course not sheriff~ I can see clear as day!" Leo twirls the toy pistol and slips it into the holster.

"Clearly! You were shootin convicts left and right before they even came into field of view! One moment fit as a fiddle, the next, boom! Tagged on that their marker on their chest with our laser toy pistols! You sure that noggin gear o' yours ain't helping you out?" the cats sticks her tongue out as she playfully accuses the helmeted boy of cheating.

"Have mercy! I would never! Them crooked folk simply could muster the ability to stand up to me! And what's more, you sure you ain't guilty of foul play either? You sure are one helluva crack shot. Moreso than me I'd say!"

"Can't be blamed for pure innate skill pardner. Y'all could've done the same ifin ya didn't rely on that hear fancy hat~Why not take it off and get a breather?"

"I'm not removing my helmet Katy." Leo grabs the laser toy and quickly fires to the left, eliminating another member of the convict team.

"Pleaseeeeeeeeee." Katy grabs Leo's and her own laser toy and without looking, quickly fires them behind herself and eliminates two more "You look ridiculous with the cowboy hat on top of the helmet! And the cowboy clothes OVER your jacket and leather jeans! You look like a mess…" She hands Leo his laser back.

"Ok, first of all, rude. Second of all, it's because I can't take it off!" Leo fires off above as another contender simply bellows out a sad 'Aw…'

"What is it glued onto you?" She fires off behind Leo, but the voice that replies simply gets upset 'Hey I was on your team!...Ah whatever...not like I would've actually managed.'

"No! I mean that as in, you aren't supposed to see me!"

"But whyyyy...PJ got to see...that fact alone is offending meeeee…"

"It's not like I WANTED to show him!"

Before Katy could add on, the speaker turned on and informed the duo that they were the last ones left "That means we win!"

'The remaining two will now have a duel against each other! The victor will be the last one to not be tagged!'

Both of them stare at each other, then quickly vanish into the terrain to hide. The lights in the arena began to turn on to both give away their cover as well as make it a bit more difficult for their lasers to hit their mark. At this moment they kept firing the moment they noticed the other peek out from one cover to another, but neither one could hit each other "Just throwin this out there, you may wanna give up now Leo!"

"I'm gonna go on a limb and say you're not gonna take no for an answer?" Leo immediately dodges a light that was aiming for him "I'll take that as a yes."

"Sorry doll! Can't be spendin mercy to any convict on the battlefield!"

"This is sheriff abuse!"

"This cowboy ain't hearin it! She's the queen of laser tag and has been since as far back as I can remember! Almost as instinctual as dancin on the dancefloor! And you're the queen's next victim!" She dives to another cover while firing a beam to hit Leo, but he quickly runs away. While he runs off, she takes the opportunity to go to a mini hiding spot in the higher ground. _Alright, since I made it seem like I'd be chasing him, he'll be expecting me to strike from the low path and try to sneak around and catch me off guard! Unfortunately for him, I'm up here! And I have the vantage point of the entire place from here. If he pokes out for even just a second...BANG! He's done for!_ She hears a shift in spot not to far off "Hm?" She sees something move "Gotcha!" She pokes out from the hiding spot and attempts to fire, but as she pops out she herself is hit in the chest by the laser toy.

"Bang! You're out pardner." Leo says from underneath Katy's hiding spot.

"W-Wha-...how did you...how COULD you?..." Katy fails to pronounce anymore words, she is completely dumbfounded by how he could've possibly found her out.

"Confused as to how I figured you out? When I was young I had someone who was close to me ALWAYS do that as one of her finishing tactics. She would always expect the runner to anticipate her creeping along the ground level with them. And she was right, they never expected her to be ABOVE them! And so I took that knowledge with me. And wouldn't ya know it? It worked to my advantage~"

"But you were over!..." She looks towards the spot where she saw something move, but upon closer inspection, it was Leo's cowboy hat attached to the scenery "N-No...t-that's not possible…No one ever knows how to deal with that tactic...because I thought it up!...how is that…-"

"Don't think to hard on it and just accept it. The queen's…" He blows the tip of his toy pistol before holstering it again "Been dethron- h-hey...d-don't cry!...I-It's just a game!..." He quickly starts panicking once he sees tears leaking down her eyes "Uhhhh...U-Uh...i-is there anything I can d-do that'll get you stop crying?..."

"C-Can we get ice cream…"

"S-Sure!..." _So that's who I got it from...I thought it was from dad…_ "Let's go, there's a place down the street that has some great ice cream!..."

"Any good burger place here to?..."

 _Yep...it was definitely her...heh, I'm glad._ "Yes there is, it's in this building though. So what do you wanna get first?"

"The ice cream...that way when we come back here...I can get on the slides and climb the way high up monkey bars once I'm done eating the burger!..."

"I'm starting to question if you're really upset and are just using this to get more pampering out of me." she stares at him with sad eyes "Okok. Let's go." She stops the sad face then looks at him cutely. It taunts him in an impish manner.

"Let's!"

* * *

"What's this thing right here sir?" Parappa says as he hovers over an oblong device.

"That my impressionable young lad is something akin to a fax machine, but it's actually something more! With help from an odd fellow who claimed they were from hell of all places, very strange, this device can actually send people to far off distances! At least that's what the fellow told me it would do once he helped me make it…" the inventor of the device, a walrus man, says as he scratches his head.

 _Huh...that sounds a lot like the thing Yoko had...I wonder…_ "S-Sir...a man with a pumpkin for a head w-wouldn't have been the one to help you make this now would he?" Lammy asks, already knowing the answer.

"Why yes it was! You happen to know him?"

 _I'm guessing this is either to have a spare one in case they end up getting stuck up here and need to get back to hell...or they broke the original one and plan of claiming this one eventually as 'theirs'..._ "U-Um...vaguely. J-Just happened to hear this h-happen before is all."

"Sir how does it work?" Parappa says as he gets near the machine and stares at it rather closely.

"Like this!" the inventor pushes Parappa into the machine, and immediately he gets sucked in.

"W-WHAAAAA-…" Parappa's voice fades into nothingness as the machine stops whirring. His voice is soon then again heard from the air as he was transported to the ceiling "AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He plummets downwards like a cartoon character careening down a cliff.

"Oh...that wasn't supposed to happen...he was supposed to be sent to the side hallway. Oh dear this is bad…"

"I-I GOTCHA!..." the distressed lamb skitters along the ground with her arms held out as she tries to catch the falling Parappa. She closes her eyes, and in split second after, she is slammed onto her back. Parappa is safely in her arms as she holds him tightly. "Owowow...c-caught you…~"

"Phew...yeah...thanks a bunch Lammy!... Are you ok though? I landed on you pretty hard…"

"I don't m-mind! I'm ok k-knowing that you're o-ok."

"I'm terribly sorry dear boy...it seems this device is currently malfunctioning… I don't understand, before I came here it was working just fine…" he helps the two of them up "I didn't anticipate that to happen...I hope you can forgive this old fool...he should've done a few more test checks before gleefully giving you that test run…" He bows in sorrow.

"Well...logically I should be upset...but for the most part we are fiiiiiiine?" he glances over to Lammy, the lamb nods "Yep! Both fine, so it's all good sir. Neither of us got TO hurt from this!"

"Thanks you both. I was one of the main presenters later today what with giving demonstrations on what my invention does...now I definitely need to make sure what's wrong…"

"Whoa...glad we could help prevent what would've been chaos!"

"Y-Yeah...to think what ELSE c-could've gone wrong…only w-wish we weren't the t-test dummies that figured that out, b-but like Parappa said! W-We weren't to hurt from it so w-we'll look it over!" She rest her hands on her hips "I still suggest you get it working before you hit the demonstration floor, otherwise drop out to prevent any more accidents!" He stuttering fades away as a more stern air emanates from her. No guitar needed as her mind was already instilled with anger, or rather what the equivalent of anger to her was with what she could muster, let's settle for really strong upsetness, over Parappa's little tumble.

"Y-Yes of course! Right away!" He quickly begins working on the device to put in full working order.

Parappa stares at her with slight awe as they walk away from the inventor of the fax machine esque device "Wow. No guitar needed for that!"

She huffs up steam from her nose as if she were a bull "Guess I was just very miffed at him! I know he didn't mean to do that. By all means he expected that to fully work and that's understandable, but would it have killed him to test it first?!"

"Well I mean he is rather old...a fall from that height probably would…"

"Ok but regardless! That put you in harms way and I just won't stand for it!" She closes her eyes, stops walking and just sits on the ground with her arms crossed. Realizing that her body would follow her words literally, the action simply causes her to turn red, but she doesn't get up.

"Lammy."

"Nope."

"Lammy…"

"Not getting up."

"I get that and all. And while flattering to be so defensive of me...you kinda chose to start sitting in the middle of a doorway…"

"Say what." She opens one her eyes slightly to peer around and spots that he's telling the truth. She opens both her eyes fully and turns her head to see a crowd of people have built up behind her, wanting to go through "O-OH MY GOSH…" She gets up and scoots out of the way "I-I'M SO SORRY E-EVERYONE!..." She bows apologetically as the people resume walking on by.

"Eheh...sorry y'all." Parappa also bows as the people head on.

Once they're all gone Lammy fumbles in trying to word an apology "I-I...-"

"Chill Lammy, no harm done there! Just a bit of an awkward scene is all."

"Y-Yeah but I greatly e-embarrassed you!..."

"Eh...i'm more used to that scenario than you know of."

"T-That doesn't make me feel the least b-bit better at all!... If a-anything it makes me feel worse that I p-put you back into that scenario a-again!"

Parappa holds both his hands up in front of her to the best he can manage given their height difference "Re. Lax! As I said, i'm used to it! Besides in a situation like this? I tend not to let it get to me since I won't really be seeing the people here again. Their opinions on me don't break me, and it shouldn't break you either. And if by chance I do end up seein em again…" He pulls out his microphone "I just let em see-" He pulls over his guitar "The better side of me!"

"T-That's one mature thought process P-Parappa..."

"I didn't struggle to be mature for nothin after all! But in all actuality I have PJ and Katy to thank for that. Along with two others."

"T-The other two being?..."

"Sunny and, believe it or not, Joe." Lammy doesn't speak up, she simply blinks twice in disbelief "I'm serious! It was...a weird circumstance...see...remember how I said he was a good sport when I was the one who ended up with Sunny?..."

"Vaguely…"

"Well during that time he was a bit more...uh...conservative with his words." He glances left and right "He was still typical Joe, but there was some good intent mixed in with his endless spiel now and again. Like with this. On the day after the duo rap with me and Mushi that won over Sunny…"

* * *

" _Oh man oh man...today marks the first day of me and Sunny as an actual couple!...And I am FREAKING out...I might have been over my head with all this...I mean I do want to be with her, but what do I do to make sure I STAY with her? Aw man datings hard…"_ The young pup skitters back and forth out on the sidewalk " _I'm supposed to be meeting her today at her house to see what we should do for our first date...but what if something goes wrong? What if EVERYTHING goes wrong? Would people judge us for being a couple?...W-Would they judge her for picking someone like me?..."_ he stops in place and begins whining as he pulls his beanie over his eyes " _Her life's gonna end up filled with constant stares and ridicule and it's all thanks to meeeeee…."_

" _Sheesh, you make it sound like if she was dating me in the end!"_

Parappa quickly turns around and lifts his hat to see who spoke up, it was Joe Chin " _Joe? Why are you here?..."_

" _Can't a guy take a simple walk along the town on a nice sunny day?"_

" _Joe we're at the edge of town in the rural home portion, it's incredibly cloudy, and we're literally steps away from my front yard."_ Parappa crosses his arms " _You clearly wanted to see me."_

" _And is there any harm in that dear friend?"_

" _Considering what you've been putting me through all day yesterday and the day before? Yes, quite a lot actually. And i'm being generous in not counting what happened before those two days!"_

" _Ouch, that's some venom you're hitting me with old friend!"_

" _We're not friends Joe…"_

" _Oh that's just rude! Why would you go and say such a thing Parappa? Is it because I'm two years older than you?"_

" _Age has nothing to do with it! Did you seriously not hear what I just said? It's pretty self explanatory as to why we aren't friends…"_

Joe scoffs " _Alright alright, I get it. And I apologize alright? Look I came over here to…"_ he sighs " _Congratulate you…"_

" _I'm sorry wha-"_

" _The better man, won the fair lady's heart in the end!"_

Parappa stares at Joe with confusion before speaking up " _Sunny's not a prize to be won ya know…"_

" _And yet you competed for her much like I was, were you not?"_

" _Moving along...it's not like you to flat out admit this sorta thing...what's up?..."_

" _I am seriously just here to congratulate you!...I don't have a reason...only shattered pride…"_

" _Alright...well thanks. It takes a big man to own up to the mistakes he's been doin."_

" _And there is no bigger man than I!"_

" _And immediately I take it all back."_

" _Sorry...force of habit…"_ Joe scratches his signature chin " _Carrying on, what about you? Why aren't you continue YOUR walk? You clearly have somewhere to be, but here you are all gloom and doom over your new relationship!"_

Parappa sulks " _I really wish you didn't hear all that…"_ with a quick roll of the eyes he resumes " _Yes I am worried over this...why wouldn't I be? I don't know the first thing about dating! Especially when it comes to keeping Sunny happy!"_

" _I'm sorry I'm in a bit of loss for words here."_

" _That's a first. Why?"_

" _Well for starters, everything you just said is...well it's really a big fat lie."_

" _How?!"_

" _Well you say you don't know how to date, but all your actions in trying to improve yourself to be the girl you love say otherwise. You chose to want to make her happy in that regards through odd means. Ruffians came to her face? You learned to fight. She seems happy at the prospect of travelling? You learned to drive. And when it came to her birthday, you bought her a cake you picked from your heart rather than your brain."_

" _What do you mean by that?"_

" _Don't be a fool! I saw with my own eyes! When you saw the two cakes, rather than pick the flashy expensive one. You bought the classic daisy one. That alone is another innate touch! It also put me in a bind as there were no more flower themed cakes!"_

" _...I did do that didn't I?"_

" _And when I…'accidentally' ruined it. What did you do?"_

" _I learned to make one."_

" _Atta boy! You do know what to do with dating, because it just will come to you, like all this did! You can and will make her happy. Just make sure she also strives to do the same for you! It isn't fair if just ONE side of the relationship is piling on the love!"_

" _I know she will!"_

" _Good!"_

" _But…"_

" _But?..."_

" _What about any onlookers? What if they just...don't like us being together? Don't like her being with me?"_

" _Now this is where I draw the line and have to call you an idiot. Which is really bad considering it is I, who is calling you an idiot. Parappa old boy, WHY should any of that matter to you?"_

" _Well it's just...they could make her life hell over me...and just plainly berate me at the same time…"_

" _And again, the thoughts of others should affect you, becaaaaause?"_

" _Well they-"_

" _They can't break you. They will never break you. Words are sharp yes, but I must ask you this. What do you think of the daling Miss Funny?"_

" _I love her with all my heart!"_

" _And what did she tell you after your performance with the MC yesterday?"_

" _She loved me with all of hers…"_

" _And that's?"_

" _Real love…"_

" _And love is strong enough to not heed the words of others. No. YOU are strong enough to not let any words affect you as is she. Being together simply increases this fact! What another thinks of you is nothing that should keep you up at night when the fact is...Will you really ever see this person again?"_

" _No...but...what if I do?"_

" _If you by chance DO meet those rather rude fellows. Then you do the obvious thing."_

" _What's that?..."_

Joe pulls out a microphone with a ribbon on it to make it seem like a present. It is incredibly expensive and flashy, but with all the glamour and adornments, it's more of a trophy than an actual microphone. It doesn't seem like Joe noticed that fact. On the end of the handle there is a tag that says 'I'm sorry for everything'. Joe then hands the microphone to Parappa " _You let them see the better side of you!"_

* * *

"Wow...to think something so confusing yet sweet could...come from a guy like him…" the shy lamb tilts her head in slight disgust "Where did THAT Joe go?..."

"I wish I knew…" Parappa sighs "Unfortunately we'll never know now...what with him...well you know…"

"Heh...y-yeah…" She rubs her arm before she lets go an extends her hand "W-Well...why not get your mind off of it by helping me see more t-things around here?..."

He smiles weakly "Sure~..." He grabs her hand and they continue walking off. They stop when they see another inventor holding a weird device with multiple screens.

"Oh hello! Are you two young lovebirds interested in what my little side project is?" Says the female crane inventor as she looks towards the two.

"L-Lovebirds?!" the two shout as the separate their hands.

"Y-You misunderstand Miss! I was just escorting my friend around!..."

"Y-Yeah t-that's all it is!..." _I mean I'd like it to be that, but not like this...I rather it be by my own way...really struggling to find an opportunity though…_

"I see. I'll tell you, the newer generation of people sure are much more lenient with their friendships! Back in my day you even stand next to the opposite gender and you were automatically in a shotgun wedding!" She cackles at her own joke "So I take it you two are curious in my little device here?"

"H-Heh...yes Ma'am…"

"Well it's nothing TO extraordinary. Just a little uh…" she taps her beak with her finger "Quality of life, obscure convenience? I guess is a way to word it."

"W-What is it M-Miss?..."

"Well my young miss! This is simply just a multi scale reader! It's pretty much multiple scales in one! Balance scale, weight scale, richter scale, geiger scale and so forth! Any type of scale you require. Guarantee it'll be on this here device!"

The two young animals stare at the crane before Parappa decides to speak up "Wow that is an obscure convenience."

"It really is, it's only for the working lehman in the field of science or mathematics such as engineering!"

"I can see that! My dad could've surely used one of those back in his hay day."

"Well that's the hilarity of having something you'd never know you needed until you don't need it anymo-...huh?" She quickly notes the device shaking like crazy within her grasp "This is odd…"

"What happened?..."

"The richter scale is going crazy…"

"W-Wait...d-does that mean t-there's gonna be an e-earthquake?!..."

"That's what I don't get...by the readings it's a force from way underground...but not one that's as threatening as an actual earthquake would be...it's as if something was trying to dig out from underneath the ground...we should be feeling the shockwaves right about...now!" as she finishes the ground starts shaking hecticly. The people start tumbling over as they struggle to maintain their balance. Lammy and Parappa hold onto each other to prevent the other from toppling over "And it should be finished...right about...now!" The sudden violent ground movement comes to an immediate halt just as she says "Whew...what a ride! Strange though...earthquakes don't ever happen around here...wonder what could've happened…" she glances at the two shaking animals before her "Oh! Are you two alright?"

"Y-Ya huh…"

"S-Sure we c-can call it t-that…"

"Good! Well everything's all fine and dandy now! I suggest you carry on watching what others have made!" the duo simply nod before forcing their feet to move on "Such a joy to have such young people interested in the technological field!"

Back with the old walrus inventor, as he's trying to fix his device, it starts to violently bounce about "Ah bugger...looks like I'll have to drop out from the demonstration time after all." He grabs the fax machine device and holds it steady "C'mere you! We gotta put you under lockdown until this event ends. Don't want you causing any trouble to the others here!" He heads to the main room and converses with the people hosting the event, within moments he then places his device in the back room and straps it down so that it doesn't bounce away "I'll be dismantling you by the end of today! I only wonder what could've caused the malfunction...it was going so well…" He leaves the device as he sadly walks away.

Back with Parappa and Lammy the two finally shake off the fear from the earthquake as they try to talk to regain composure "So...that was uh…"

"T-Terrifying?"

"Yeah it could've gone better…but she was kinda right! It didn't hit like an actual destructive earthquake would! It still shook the ground like one though…"

"S-She could've given it a b-better description though… S-Something trying to d-dig its way o-out? No t-thank you…"

"Oh relax Lammy! What on earth could be below us, besides hell, that would want to burst through! Let alone here at a science expo?"

"Well I dunno...still off putting…"

"Well don't let it get to you! Oh! Gimme a sec, shoes untied."

"A-Alright. I'll just keep g-going onwards. C-Catch up when you're d-done."

"Roger that!"

Lammy glances around to see what manner of inventions there are. _Would that be safe to check out with Parappa? No...to sharp… How about that? No to disproportionate it size...it might topple over judging by our luck so far… Oh! That seems sa-_ The device she's currently staring at uppercuts its inventor out of the building, mortifying Lammy. _And I immediately eat my words…_ she places her hands in her pockets as she keeps on looking about, huffing defeatedly when she can't pick a thing to visit. Just then from the corner of her eye she sees something spark from the distance. "Wha?..." the spark grows brighter "T-That doesn't seem safe...I should probably w-warn someone who works here to check on that…" she looks around but no luck "Oh man...maybe it's nothing b-bad?...I-It could just b-be someone finishing u-up their invention b-before unveiling it!...Oh...even I don't believe that...maybe if I s-see it it'll calm me down…" She heads on over to the main room and walks towards the source of the spark in the backroom.

The door opens slightly allowing the anxious lamb to spy on what's inside. Immediately she spots the device the walrus was trying to fix. She aggravatingly rolls her eyes.

"I should've figured…" She turns around and tries to head back over to Parappa, but not a second after, the device begins making a noise as if it was going to print something out "That...does not sound good…" She returns to staring at the machine and her fear was well warranted as the machine prints out a large piece of paper. The paper soon gets upright as someone all to familiar peels herself off from it.

"Man I HATE havin to do that again...wish the damn path connecting Hell and the overworld wasn't busted...UGH. Just my fucking luck…" A black sheep says as she begins stomping on the ground aggressively.

"No…"

"And why the hell did I end up here?! I set the thing to send me to where that walking anxious mess of a redhead was! But all I see is a nerd's supply closet! Man I'm gonna carve that idiots pumpkin head wide open when I get my hands on him…" she cracks her knuckles angrily as she pictures the one who told her the path would work flawlessly.

"Nooooo…"

"Someone there?! Show yourself!" she pulls out her guitar and begins walking towards the door.

"Eep!..." Lammy quickly backs off from the door and runs off "NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONOOOOOO…" she runs to different rooms trying to hide away from the girl she just saw, who she believes is following her. _Why is SHE here?! Why NOW?! I don't want go through ANOTHER battle right now...wait…_ Lammy immediately recalls what happened earlier today, something she was sure was not gonna be the case.

" _And she looks...so familiar…"_

 _She looks like me, she plays guitar and it's the only thing she responds to before listening to reason...they've even MET...no...it IS her...why…What could YOU possibly need help with?!...and from him no less...wait...maybe I can keep him away from her?...He doesn't know it's her that he has to help, but if he SEES her it might tip him off…_ Lammy tries to calm her thoughts until she feels something tug at her shirt "Huh?..." She turns around and sees a downtrodden Parappa "Parappa!...w-wait...what's w-wrong?..."

"...I uh...I'm sorry...it's just...I gotta a text from Katy who was checking up on us to see how we were doing and...I got upset again...heh...already I fail at trying to keep Pinto happy by not getting upset at a friend…"

"W-Wait but why are you u-upset?..."

"...I couldn't tell you if I knew...just something in my gut is just...so angry right now…"

 _The heck does that mean?..._ "C-Can I try to help you calm d-down again?..."

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to calm myself down to get better used to this. Mind if we walk by ourselves for the time being? I wanna air out my thoughts on my own in the meanwhile."

"O-Oh...ok…" _And there goes any chance I have at trying to set up any semblance of a date...well at least he's away from Ram-_ she looks around to see that Parappa had already left. She quickly spots him heading off in the direction of where she spotted Rammy _You have got to be-_ she quickly runs after him "P-PARAPPA WAI- E-EEP!" She stops and hides behind a wall due to spotting Rammy again.

"Huh?..." Parappa turns his head, but continues walking, to see who called his name "I could've sworn I heard someone call my nam- OOF" He bumps into someone due to not paying attention to what was in front of him "Ohhhh...my head...I'm sorry, I didn't pay attention to where I was going…"

"No kidding! Pay more attention where you walk idiot!"

Parappa looks up to see who he bumped into "Geez I said I was sor-" the two stare at each other, Rammy's gaze squints into that of annoyance while Parappa simply stares like a goof. He sees a spark flare up in the corner of one of her eyes. _It's you! You're the one that wants help!..._

"Hey creep, why not take a pic? It lasts longer."

"I-I'm sorry, just...you're familiar…" The night of MilkCan's first concert flashes into his mind "THE NIGHT OF THE CONCERT!"

Literal fire ignites in Rammy's eyes "Tch..."

"U-Uhhhh…Y-You know...the o-one where I a-accidentally mistook you for my friend…?"

"I. Remember."

"E-Eheh...you don't sound to happy about that fact…"

"Oh. I'm sorry I'm not happy for the girl who people mistook for me, allowing her to take my place in things that were mainly mine…"

"...A-Ah...I'm uh...sorry...um?..."

"Rammy…"

"Yes!...R-Rammy!..." _A name like that adds on to the irony…_

"I'm aware of how her similar name also helped in her theft of my career."

"H-How did you know I was thinking that…"

"It's ALWAYS the same thing with everyone! The appearance! The names! The fact that we both are ace guitarists...EVERYTHING! ARGGGGGGGGHHHHHH" She holds her guitar over her head, a pose Parappa recalls all to clearly from his dream, and she slams it to the ground. The ground violently shakes as all the inventions in the building start stuttering and bursting with electricity whipping off of them.

"H-Hey hey hey! N-No need to get angry over it!... Um...R-Rammy why are you here?..."

"I was looking for that career stealer...the damn machine was supposed to take me to her...but instead it ejected me here in this dork utopia…"

 _She doesn't know Lammy's here...that's...probably for the better…_ "A-Ah...I see...that explains what happened to the old guys device...you were in the middle of using it yourself!...H-Haha…" He taps his fingers together nervously "S-Say uh...Y-You wouldn't happen to need help right?"

"What do you mean by 'needing help'..." Her voice grew sharp.

"I-I don't mean it like there's anything w-wrong with you! I mean l-like are you upset with anyth-"

"I'M UPSET WITH EVERYTHING THANKS TO HER!" she slams her guitar again "AND THEN I GET AN ANNOYING MUTT IN FRONT OF ME! TELLING ME THAT I NEED **HELP**!" She slams it once more, knocking Parappa onto his face.

"P-Please listen to me!..."

Rammy was about to hit him over the head with her guitar, until she noticed his guitar that was strapped to his back "Heh...you play guitar?...A miserable hound like you?"

 _This is what she meant by getting through her thick skull isn't it…_ "U-Um...well I wouldn't say that...I-I recently...like REALLY r-recently just learnt how!...H-Hehe...s-so I wouldn't say that I p-play nono! T-That'd be an insult to actual g-guitarists everywhere! S-So-"

" _ **CAN IT**_!"

"Yes Ma'am…"

"You want me to listen to what you have to say?"

"I-It'd be nice y-yes…"

"Then play against me."

"W-What?"

"You fucking heard me."

"B-But I recently learnt h-"

"Don't give me that crap. I can see it off your face. You did just learn, but you learned…" She growls "From **her** …" She scoffs "So you're at a competent level at the very least…"

"You think I'm competent?..." He gets off the ground and stands upright.

"Don't even go there. I'll just say that she would make a decent enough teacher in getting even a poser such as yourself ready to go…"

"I-I still don't think it's f-fair-"

" _ **ENOUGH!**_ " She rubs her forehead "Fine, what can _**I**_ do to make it 'fair' for you to accept my challenge?"

"S-Sing?...I-I'm mostly a rapper before I d-decided to g-get this guitar and-"

"Sing?" Rammy groans "Now I remember...you're also a big hit like my life stealing doppelganger...The dumb, town rapping hero or some shit like that…" She crosses her arms "Now I see why Raparra, AJ and Kitty hate this place."

"D-Did you just say Rapa-"

"Fine. I accept your dumb request…" She holds her guitar over her shoulder as she presses her index finger of her free hand against his nose "Normally I choose not to sing in public, but in this case. It'd be fun knocking you down a peg by flooring you in both playing the guitar AND singing!" She topples him onto this back "I don't want anyone hearing me though so we'll be jamming in that back room over there where I came from. It was empty enough for my voice to not be heard out of. And stable enough to bring the house down!" Parappa utters a pathetic gulp before nodding "Good boy. Let's go!" She picks him up by the neck of his shirt and carries him along.

Lammy quickly sees this and sneakily follows after the two. _THIS COULD NOT GET ANY WORSE...LIKE SERIOUSLY WHY MEEEEE...POR QUE ME PASA TODO MALOOOOO…_

Rammy opens the door to the back room and chucks Parappa in before walking in herself "Get ready Mutt."

Parappa quickly grabs his guitar and holds it ready in position. _I can't do this...I can't do this…_ Parappa begins remembering his dream, he recalls the sad state that Rammy was in. The pure sadness and despair emanating off her locked away subconscious. Parappa looks to Rammy and sees the spark in her eyes again as if it was her subconscious final attempt at asking for help. "...I can do this. I-…"

Parappa regains his vigor as he stands in a pose similar to how Lammy stands when she's about to play with MilkCan "THAT'S MORE LIKE IT! HAHAH!" Rammy laughs maniacally as she dons the same pose, but mirrored.

 _Stage 3: The visitor from Hell_

"JUST GOTTA BELIEVE!"

"RAVE IT TO RAMMY!" They both strum their guitars "MY GUITAR IS IN YOUR **FACE!** " They clash guitars before pushing each other off and returning back to their readied pose. Staring at each other with determination.

 _My mind, my heart and my very being. All of it. It can feel your true nature! I WILL breakthrough and help you with your sadness! Mark my words Rammy..._


	16. A wiener is you

Katy finishes the ice cream she had with happiness as the tears that were once on her face evaporate entirely. Leo could swear he could see the word 'JOY' floating above her head.

"Nothing like ice cream to cheer a gal up~"

"Well, I'm glad that's settled with."

"Hey now, there's still the burgers! And the chance that I may want more ice cream~"

"Yes yes taskmaster." He laughs to himself as Katy lightly punches his shoulder.

"Rude! Come on! Let's get those burgers!"

"Oh so no seconds in ice cream?"

"Shut up, and let's go."

"Aight.

The duo head back over to the previous building to eat some more, after that happens they head on over to the massive child playground portion.

"The burgers were nice. But chunky and beard burgers have them beat. Fo Sho'"

"Hard to get accustomed to other brands when you've grown up with something you assume is better."

"Could go without the lessons Socrates." She playfully rolls her eyes and ends with a wink "Come on! We gotta hit the slides and the giant climbing jungle gym!"

"Aren't you a little to big for those things? Plus we just ate a ton so isn't that probably a bad idea?"

"Pffft, you clearly don't know me then! My stomach is tougher than that! I could eat thrice what we just ate and still do all these things with ease."

"Then why not go to the amusement park half of this place like the indoor roller coaster or the gravitron?"

"My stomach can't handle that!"

"But you just said-"

"I'm also a hypocrite when it comes to things I like and don't like."

"You don't say." an annoyed face lights up on Leo's helmet.

"Oh cheer up! It's my choice in the end ain't it?"

"True true…"

They head on over to the building wide slides that acts akin to a fast travel system more so than slides, but they are fun nonetheless for the rockband cat. They enjoy their time until Katy shouts to Leo that it was now a good time to head on over to the other thing. Leo exits the slide and waits outside the one where he heard Katy, but no one comes out.

"Huh?..." He peers in, but it's still empty "Did she leave before me?" He turns around, but just then Katy slides out and dive kicks Leo onto the ground "AUGHGHGA…"

"THAT'S for beating me at laser tag!"

"This is beyond petty...ow...sorry…"

"Apology accepted!" She dusts her hands off and walks off of him "Come on then! To the giant jungle gym!"

"I'll be there in a bit...gonna stay on the ground for a little while longer till I get the feeling back in my spine…"

Katy rolls her eyes with her arms crossing "You are such a wimp." She helps him up "Come on I know you're fine."

"I am, but that doesn't mean my body ain't in pain though after that!"

"Whatever. Catch up when you can!"

"I will I will. Just enjoy yourself in the meanwhile."

"You can count on that!" Katy zooms off and begins climbing on the multi barred obstruction. She hops from bar to bar as she goes even higher.

"Uh...Katy be careful from up there!..." Leo shouts from his position on the ground.

"Re-Lax! I'm totally fine!" Katy keeps climbing, missing a sign that said 'Do not climb past this point if you are bigger than the designated size'. She begins going along the monkey bars portion which was an elongated row over the entirety of the building. There were no bars below, allowing for a terrifying, yet fun, leg dangling experience from the tip of the ceiling to the ground below "Wow this is so over the top...I LOVE it!" As Katy goes from bar to bar she soon stops in place when she hears a creaking noise "Huh?" The bar she is currently latching onto plops out of place "Well...this is bad…" She begins plummeting towards the ground "W-WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Leo watches mortified as his helmet screen cracks "MO-...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE LEGS MOVE!" He bursts towards where she's falling and his jacket lights up. It molds off onto his back as it turns into a jetpack, allowing him to dash off into the air. He flies off towards Katy, catching her mid drop.

Katy simply stares at Leo "You have a _**jetpack?!**_ "

"I am NOT giving it to you! Also WHY is that more important that you divebombing to the ground?!"

"Well it's not like I was in any real danger…" She points down "They have a safety net for this kind of occasion…"

"W-What?..." Leo looks down and sees the mentioned net that would've caught her effortlessly "O-Oh…"

"Can we go down now?..."

"Y-Yeah...let's go down..." Leo begins descending while holding onto Katy. As they slowly go down, Katy notices his Jacket is no longer on. He's wearing a red and blue sleeveless tee with a star on the center, the star has a frog icon in the middle of it. She could also see the fur on his arms, they were blue. She looks towards his cracked helmet screen. This caused the helmet itself to become a tad see through. She couldn't see the entirety of his face, but she could see his eyes. They were vertically oval, much like hers, but the pupil color was brown like Parappa's.

"Hey Leo?..."

"Yeah?..."

"Think we can go back to your club?..."

He warringly looks towards her "Whyyyy?"

"That's the last spot I pick. I'm calling it a day, right now I just wanna dance."

"Oh um...aight." The land on the ground and Leo gently places Katy down.

"Mind giving me a sec? Gonna message Parappa and Lammy."

"Why?"

"Just wanna check if they're fine and stuff."

"Aight take your time. My club ain't going nowhere."

As Katy types away she questions Leo over his jetpack "Just how many things did you 'borrow' from your dad?"

"Eheh...quite a lot of stuff…"

"Won't he be needing em?"

"Technically no...they...kinda were for me. I just took them before they were ready to be mine when I decided to run away."

"Uh huh…" Katy was curious over something, but she couldn't figure out a way to word it "You have nice fur and cute eyes...reminds me of...oh I dunno…"

"Come agai-" Leo looks down to see his jacket is currently his jetpack and that his screen is heavily cracked "EEP…"

"Relax that's all I could see...what are you? You don't seem to have a tail, at least a visible one."

"Uh...w-who knows…"

"Right…" She finishes typing "Done and done!"

"That took a bit. What'd you say to him?"

"Oh you know. 'How's it goin?' 'Are you and Lammy doin ok?' 'Any mind blowing nerd stuff revealed?' 'I know what Leo looks like!' 'Could you bring me a souvenir!'-"

"Wait was that second to last thing?"

"Ohhhhhh...I dunnoooooo...Just potentially caught on to what you've been hiding!"

"You do not know…"

"How do you know? You're clearly a cat!" Leo freezes in place.

"W-Wrong…" _I mean...she kinda is._

"I could feel the dread from here boyo! And I sent it all to him!"

"You did not!"

"How do you know? You can't see my phone~" Leo tries to grab the phone from Katy "Whoa there~ Sorry~ No touchy!~" she sticks her tongue out as she winks at him.

"Give it here!"

"Nuh uh~" She keeps avoiding Leo's grasp while continuously taunting him "Not there!~ Uh oh!~ So close!~ No cigar!~ Oooooh you almost got it!~" She then tosses her phone up in the air "Whoops!~"

Leo reaches up and snatches it "GOT IT!" Katy immediately grabs onto his helmet. _Did I really just fall for that..._

"AND I GOT YOU!" She plucks it right off his head, revealing what he's been hiding.

"E-Eheh...well...that happened…" Leo stares at the girl in front of him, but she stares back more intensely. A mix of emotions try to express themselves on her face at the same time. Unlike PJ however, she immediately pieces together what's happening.

"Y-Yo-Y-You're…"

"Huh?..." Leo gulps "I'm?..."

"M-My kid…" She begins wobbling " _ **O-Our kid…**_ "

"U-Uh...n-nooooooo...I mean...w-whose kid? W-Whatcha talkin bout….h-h-hehehe…"

Katy stays wobbling in place as her imagination starts running wild causing her to stumble in place exponentially "Y-You are…" Her mind goes rampant as one song soon begins flooding her thoughts, cutting off what little control she had on her body.

All that she can hear and see is the song that is beginning to play in her mind as everything else, fades out of existence to her.

Within her mind there is nothing but PaRappa Town, all normal, bright and lovely! Parappa and Katy are walking hand and hand down a street during a gorgeous sunny day, both staring happily at each other as stars and hearts glisten in their eyes. On said held hands, each have a ring. Beautiful diamond rings that signified their relationship. Parappa and Katy were wearing matching shirts that read 'Parents to be'. They tilt their heads, enamoured heavily, as they begin singing, Parappa leading off.

" _Time for you and me to have a family!"_

"With a baby, we should live so happily!"

" _Could be a boy or girl_ whichever we don't mind at all!"

"Our newborn treasure shall bring _tons of love, and peace to all!"_

"Uh- _huh!"_ The light flares up as the setting changes, Katy's stomach is now marginally bigger.

"I can buy him trucks and tree house!"

" _I can buy her rings and a doll house!"_

" _The child must be strong!_ The child must be sweet!"

"We'll give, _our child,_ love fore _ver long!"_

" _Doesn't matter strong or weak cuz it's our own!"_

"If it's good for you, it's good for me, we're not alone!"

" _The thumping beats of our new baby sounds so heavenly!"_

"I can't believe that we created life, just you and meeeeee!"

"Ind _eed!"_ Her stomach is now even larger after the light cloaks everything again.

" _You can give him food, change his diapers!"_

"You can pay the bills, do the dishes!"

" _You can babysit!"_

"Only if I'm it!"

" _Why don't we just flip a coin?"_

"No!"

" _I will do the work!"_

"I'll be glad to work!"

" _Time for you and me to have a family!"_

"With a baby, we should live so happily!"

"Could be a boy or girl whichever _we don't mind at all!"_

" _Our newborn treasure shall bring_ tons of work, and peace to all!" The light flares one final time as the duo are at a home around a crib, they pluck a baby out as they both hold it close while they huddle up in a new family hug. Kissing the baby before each other.

" **Our newest** _ **little baby!**_ "

Once the song ends Katy's brain begins shutting down as she falls over onto her back. Completely out for the count. Her tail curling into a heart before her collapse.

"K-Katy!" Leo panics as people start to crowd around them "P-Pay no mind here y'all! S-She just took a look at me without my helmet off and f-fainted!...F-Fangirls am I right?...h-hehe…" They all release a collective 'Oooooh' before carrying on to their own activities. Leo heaves a relieved sigh "Oh boy...I gotta get ya outta here...what a mess…"

* * *

 **Lesson 1:**

 _Aight chillax Parappa, she said she doesn't like singing...so maybe she's no good at it? So far she seems to be the opposite to Lammy in every regards...maybe I'll get lucky!_

" _Back from Hell…_

 _Need I...Ring a bell?"_

" _Rammy, is that a name that you've heard?_

 _Thinkin of beatin me? That's just absurd!"_

" _You're gonna fall! You're gonna fail! You're gonna get de-stroyed!"_

 _DAMMIT SHE HAS THE VOICE OF AN ANGEL!...And a sadistic one at that…_ "I'll stand tall! I'm gonna prevail! That's something I'll-avoid!"

" _Feel the fire burning deep inside of me, boiling hatred and- agony! And it's all because of that cursed red sheep!"_

"No that simply can-not be! Who you really angry at, her or me? Care to just listen, I got a promise that I plan to keep!" Both strum their guitars in a heavy metal beat as they circle around each other, their playing ignites life in the machines around them as they start bouncing up and wildly.

" _NOOOOOO. I won't listen! It doesn't matter, it doesn't matterrrrr to meeeee."_

"My victory is written. It does matter and I'll make ya see!"

" _Here my beat and flow will e-ra-di-cate and de-cap-i-tate all your hopes and dreams!"_

"Well ya gonna have-ta-wait cuz I don't get-da-hate! My future isn't as it seems!"

* * *

Leo, whilst driving with the unconscious Katy, suddenly sneezes greatly out of the blue "Augh...what the heck was that about?!"

* * *

" _Pitiful faces, lost in her traces…NOOOOOOO"_ Fire burns around her from the sparks the fly off her chords as a pillar begins sending her upwards.

"Keep your bases! Calm your graces! Here we GOOOOO!" A pillar erects under Parappa sending him after her.

" _Think you can keep up? Think again! Down to hell you go, that's where you'll be sent!"_

"Think I can keep up? Of course, now and then! Oh is that so? I ain't spent!"

" _I'm gonna put you down, gonna know your place!"_

"Can you do it out of town? While we're in space?" Both are now in space suits as they wobble in space on their toppling pillars. Lammy watches in horror from below.

" _Doesn't matter, where or when! My desire, my fire, will win in the end!"_

"Now all you doin, is treatin me like a hasbeen. When in reality, I still got tricks you can't comprehend!"

 **Lesson 2:**

" _It doesn't matter...not at all to me…_

 _But this I will win! I'll make you see!"_

" _She took it all from me, but not this!_

 _I'll finally win and leave this abyss!"_

" _You will stare and you'll cry with a yelp,_

 _As you reap what you sow, trying to give me help!"_ the twinkle in her eye returns again causing her to stumble on her pillar. Rammy dizzily regains her composure, but her demeanour becomes softer for a bit before her anger takes over over again. Not fully however.

" _IT DOESN'T MATTER! NO IT DOES NOT MATTER. I'LL MAKE YOU SEE THAT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE TO ME THAN JUST A DOUBLE!"_

"IT SO DOES MATTER! IT SHOULD ALWAYS MATTER! YOU ARE! ALWAYS BEEN, BUT LEAVE HER OUT, NO NEED TO CAUSE TROUBLE!"

They ignite a shockwave that cracks their pillars heavily. " _Nooooo, leaveeeeee me beeee!"_

"Not until i've helped you! Can't you see?..."

" _HELP THIS YOU DAMN INFERNAL MUTT!"_ Her next chord flick causes the pillars to shatter and drop the two of them " _Noooo I will be left alooooooone. Agaaaaain."_

"This isn't how I'll let your story end!" Neither of them panic, they simply glide downwards while continuously singing and playing.

" _My fates intertwined, I must win to be freed of this inner pain! Doubled down, tossed around and left to rot!"_

"One to the other, but no fightin needed! Black and red, bruises on the heart that's beatin! I know there's more to you than you've got!"

" _Demeure allure? Insecure? Inferiority galore? What does it matter? Compared to her, my life's already out the door!"_

"Demeure allure? Insecure? Inferiority galore? You mean her or you? Are you less than or more?"

" _Hell no! I'm bold, with a style that won't grow old! But that is all you'll ever be told!"_

"More like so cold, your style is certainly one to behold! But in the end, you still neva got the gold!" Lammy spots the two skydiving towards the ground at a hectic speed, this leaves her at a loss of what to do. She could try to catch Parappa, but Rammy would spot her. It's not like the plan was feasible however, from their height and velocity, trying to catch him would probably not end well for either of them…

" _You're one to talk! You're so sad, by the end of this you'll be in a body bag!"_

"What's wrong? Why ya mad? Your anger is a facade, but now it's time to end the gag!" Two stray rocks from their respective pillars glide below them, and the two quickly find their footing on them. They use the rocks as a makeshift hoverboard to slow their decent as they glide much more manageably towards the expo.

 **Lesson 3:**

" _I can spit the fire, and keep a good tune,_

 _But you're just a flat out liar, lookin like a goon!"_

" _Freefallin, skydivin or whatever you please it,_

 _I'm still the best one here, and so you betta just quit!"_ The spark fades away as she regains her brash attitude once again.

" _Here we go so I hope you're ready to recede!"_

"Not when I just gotta believe!"

" _Nooooooooooooooo! It just doesn't matter to meeeeeee! All that I care for is that I must impede!"_

"It should matta! Don't just let things just be, or else in the end it'll be your heart that will bleed!"

" _Sing against meeee, in this song of anger and agonyyyyy! You will submit, you cannot resist my beat!"_

"Sing with you! In a tune that invokes camaraderie and harmony! I'll never give it up! I won't be burned by this heat!"

" _Troubling faces, messed up traces of...fameeeee. Lost to the fault of that copycat doppelganger! I'll make sure to bring. Her._ _ **DOWN**_ _!"_

"Things end up hard, they need to be earned. Life ain't no easy game! Don't blame the others for what is normally hard to gain! That way of thinkin and actin will never happen as long as I'm around!" The rocks they're riding on shatter even further as they reach the hole they made within the roof over the back room. They make a safe landing however as the electronics that were forced into powering on by their playing catch them due to one being a machine that was a cat wash, but because of its malfunction, created large bubbles that catch the duo who are back in their regular attire. As they safely land on the ground the machines encircle them as they begin repeating Rammy's lines like a broken tape recorder.

" _You cannot stop me! Why can't you let me be? I am the one that knows that this is right!"_

"You wanna bet? You wanna test me? I said I'll help and here you'll see! I'm simply here to stop this plight!"

" _All you'll do is get in the way, I must make her pay! I know today is the day!"_

"That's how it's gonna be? Then I gotta, in-ter-vene! Not while I got something to say!"

" _Buzz off! You're no hero, just a flashy talking, fake steppin_ _ **Z**_ _to the_ _**E**_ _to big_ _**RO!**_ "

"Stick and stones won't be breakin my bones! I'm the young pup who will make the crowd sing and say-"

The machines stop repeating Rammy as they finish the line Parappa was about to say " **Ho!"**

"Say Ho Ho!"

" **Ho! Ho!"**

"Say Ho! Ho! Ho!"

" **Ho! Ho! Ho!"**

"Now scream!" The inventions release a loud static whir as they collapse on the ground, seemingly out of power.

Rammy ruffles her hair in anger, her tiny tail whipping to and fro as her eyes start spiraling " _Why does it matter to you?! What I do! You're just a nobody. So you better just flee!"_

"Why does it matta? It just who I am! So you won't get me to scram, gotta help you with your plea!"

" _JUST LEAVE ME BE!"_ the inventions once again jolt about as they fire off electricity that rebounds off of Rammy's guitar towards Parappa.

Parappa dodges the bolts as best he can "YIPE!- WAIT! I MEAN-" Parappa gets hit by one of the bolts, he gets comically electrocuted as his body flashes like an x-ray. This was a sign that he dropped the beat "O-O-O-O-O-O-O-OOPS!..." Parappa drops to his knees once the shock stops, Rammy laughing as she increases the intensity of her strumming, causing the devices to levitate into the air once more. Parappa gets back up as he stares at her dead on. Though dazed, he still refuses to yield even with a slight blunder. This angers the ewe again, however...

 **Lesson 4:**

" _Persistent, resistant and all to inconsistent!_

 _The only one with the problem is you! That's existent"_

" _Why you keep at it if you know that I won't allow it!-_ Rammy's eyes grow technicolored as she moves like if she were the one zapped by electricity, her guitar playing becomes more disorderly and flat. The spark in her eye flaring in and out of existence, struggling to get her to yield much more effectively thanks to Parappa's constant persistence in playing against her. Rammy however, still keeps on trying to best the dog, but her eyes grow more psychedelic as they vibrate with a garbled assortment of colors showing how hectic her mental stability currently is " _M-Maybe there is a problem I may have to admit!"_ She slaps herself after saying that line outloud.

" _Weak voiced, shallow step and rundown like a back alley!_

 _Get ready you damn mutt cuz here comes the finale!"_

" _NOW YOU'LL FINALLY GET TO SEE THE REAL ME!"_ Rammy scowls heavily due to saying that line, but can't stop herself as her head 'malfunctions' further with more confliction between her inner self and outer self.

Parappa's eyes widen "Have I finally managed to see your hidden side free?!"

" _NONO STOP IT, IT DOESN'T MATTER! IT'LL NEVER MATTER! LEAVE ME BE, LEAVE ME BE, LEAVE ME BE!"_ She strums to an exaggerated degree that she snaps one of her guitar chords.

"I'll get to you! I just gotta breakthrough! Your facade I will shatter! Can't stop me, can't stop me, can't stop me!" Parappa's next riff ends up blowing Rammy back from the intensity, causing her to fumble even more so than she already is.

" _I'LL NEVER MATTER, I'LL NEVER MATTER! I'M JUST SOME SIDEGRADE TO THE BETTER GUITAR QUEEN!"_

Parappa flinches, her playing was become more and more faulty, she wasn't even holding her guitar properly anymore. He had achieved his goal and was nearing victory, but he didn't exactly feel good about it. Nevertheless he kept playing and singing, but Parappa didn't know how to continue from her line. So his brain defaulted to what it usually did in a situation like this, repeat his instructors verse… "You'll never matter, you'll never matter! You're just some sidegrade to the greater guitar queen!" _W-WAIT! I-I DIDN'T MEAN TO SAY THAT!..._

Another of Rammy's chords snap " _W-WORTHLESS...I AM SO WORTHLESS NOW...SO USELESS, USELESS USELESS….U-USE...LESS…"_ Her voice was breaking, but Parappa was breaking entirely.

 _NOOOO...THIS ISN'T WHAT I WANTED…_ "WORTHLESS! YOU ARE SO WORTHLESS NOW! SO USELESS, USELESS USELESS USE LESS!" _WHY CAN'T I STOP REPEATING HER?! WHY CAN'T I CONTINUE WITH MY OWN LINES LIKE HOW I WAS DOING MOMENTS AGO?!_

Two more of Rammy's chords snap, the voice breaking stops as she flat out cries the next verse " _USELESS! I'VE ALWAYS BEEN USE-LESS...I DON'T MATTER! I DON'T MATTER! I DON'T MATTER! I'VE NEVER MATT-ERED!...NOOOOOOO I'M JUST A WOOOOOOOOORTHLESS DOUBLE NOOOOOOOOO. LOSER. LOSER. LOSER. LOSER. LOSER. LOSER!_ _ **LOSER!**_ _AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_ "

" **It doooooooesn't matteeeeeeer…"** The machines that hover around Rammy chant this on repeat tormenting her further. It's the only line of hers that they now choose to mimic.

" _NOOOOOOOOOOOOO NEVA DID! I'M THE WORST GIRL IN EXISTENCE COMPARED TO PRETTY PERFECT MISS…! LAMMY RAMMY LAMMY RAMMY LAMMY RAMMY LAMMY...r-ra...m...my…"_ The final two remaining chords snap as she yells in anger, resentment, pain and anguish. She begins slamming her guitar on the ground repeatedly like a jackhammer. The entirety of the building shakes violently as it feels as if the place was about to be knocked entirely to the ground from her tantrum, however...her guitar breaks first. Rammy then falls to her knees as her hands wrap around her head. She tries to also cover her ears to avoid hearing the continuously chanting machines who still sing.

" **You neveeeeeeer matteeeeeeered..."**

" **Will neveeeeeeer matteeeeeeer…"**

Parappa stares in complete horror of what he had done, but his hands continue to play. He had won, but the song was still not over...his hands were on autopilot as they strum to the chanting of the machines. He hated his hands, he wished to break the guitar so that they could no longer strum it, but alas he had to watch as he continuously added to Rammy's pain. Parappa had won this battle, but it is the first time ever that Parappa wished that he instead could've lost.

Lammy, who had watched the whole ordeal was overwhelmingly happy that he had won...but she also feels the pain that both Rammy and Parappa are feeling. It was a bittersweet feeling through to the end.

After a while, his hands stop strumming, and the devices die out as they fall to pieces onto the ground. Parappa throws his guitar out his hands, completely disgusted with himself, and runs to Rammy. Rammy stays huddled down, teardrops hit the floor, but there is no crying, or sniffling...only the air of complete and utter devastation "H-Hey...R-Rammy."

"Go away…"

"I...c-can't do that you know…"

"...I know...you won...yadda yadda...story of my fucking life…"

"Hey now come on…"

"Come on nothing...I lost to you...a fluke of a guitar player...a broken record of a singer...but I guess that's expected of me now…"

"...this has been eating away at you for how long?"

"Since I ran into that stupid...always better than me redhead...Always one upping me…"

"S-She doesn't do it intentionally you know…"

"Like I give a damn if it's intentional or not...she still does it…"

"A-Ah…" Parappa was at a loss for words. She wasn't wrong with that logic.

"My life spiraled down the shitter after I met her. She stole my job for Yoko...and so I challenged her...and I lost seven times in a row...I took my lumps, I cut my losses and wanted to end it at that...but no...when it came to my job as a freelance guitarist...it was hell...every time I got hired...she always ended up being taken in place of me last second...this happened time and time again...for the past five years…" More teardrops hit the floor "I couldn't catch a break...I was deemed a pathetic waste of space...I was called the inferior one despite the literal personality of my 'clone' being the definition of inferior...it hurt...It got to me...but I would never admit it...I went rampant at my house...but you know that...you saw it in that damn head of yours…"

"So you…"

"Knew about you? Yeah…I didn't expect it to happen so soon…I thought it was my brain telling me…'you can finally regain what you lost starting here!', but no...it was just more...failure… It affected me so much that I couldn't even get hired anymore...I've hit rocky waters with my girlfriend Kitty...and...I just..."

"Wanted to get back at her one last time?..."

"If I won...I thought I could end it all…"

"But if you lost?..."

"I would _end_ it all myself…"

Parappa's heart stops, to hear someone blatantly tell him that they would kill themselves was certainly not something anyone wants to hear "You're...not gonna do that anymore though right?..."

"I don't fucking know...my life's in shitty shambles as is...so why bother stickin around when that's all I got?..."

"What if I could help?..."

"You can't help me…" She plucks her face from her hands "No one can anymore...why would they want to anyway?..."

"No one deserves to be in pain…"

"I'm a nobody...so do I still count?..."

"You are a somebody! Can't I help make you see?..."

Rammy sighs in defeat "Well I did lose to you and that was our condition...even though I really rather not…" She looks towards him "Tell you what...I'll hear you out...if you can get me to laugh and smile…"

"Is...that all?..."

"Yeah...good fucking luck getting me to do that now though…"

He extends his hand to her "Trust me when I say, that won't be a challenge!" He gives her the signature Parappa smile and thumbs up with the hand that isn't extended out towards her "When it comes to helping out another, I got what it takes! Care to walk with me to prove it?"

Rammy stares at him in silence, swapping between his face and his open hand.

Lammy watches the two from the door in a tizzy. _SAY NO!...wait...that's terrible of me!...S-SAY YES!...b-but what about m-me?...S-SAY!...I don't know…_ Lammy collapses onto her knees and begins to cry herself.

Rammy takes a long deep breath "Sure." And grabs his hand. He quickly helps her up. Parappa picks up the guitar he tossed to the side and places it on his back.

"Glad to hear it. Now let's get out of this room!...I don't wanna see the inventors of these things that we inadvertently destroyed...or get chewed out for the hole in the ground and roof…" they both share a nod as they head for the door. Lammy notices and quickly runs off to hide. From her new wall, she watches them walk off and simply stares at the ground dejectedly. She is brought to her senses when someone tugs on her tail.

"E-EEEEEEEEEEP!...o-oh...P-Pinto it's you…"

"Were you just rejected?..." Pinto points to her eyes.

"..." Lammy quickly wipes the tears from her eyes to give her the true answer, but as she looks up she sees Parappa trying his best to make Rammy smile and laugh "...Yeah...I think?...But I think it was for the greater good I suppose?...I don't know...I didn't even get a clear moment with him...and now I probably won't anytime soon..."

Pinto looks towards where she was looking "She your sister?..."

"N-No!..."

"Relative?"

"N-Not that e-either…"

"Friend?..."

Lammy stops and thinks about an answer for that last one "...after today...m-maybe?...Depending on what he does..."

Pinto notices the hesitation and tries to change the subject "Wanna look at some of these things with me?...I wanna get to know you better! I think I judged you to badly on the way here…"

Lammy wipes away the last of her tears and smiles "I'd like that very much." She grabs the tiny fourteen year olds hand as she leads her off with her back towards the wacky invention filled groups.

* * *

Katy blinked her eyes open slowly, immediately clutching her head which pounded as if Ma-san was hitting her with her drumsticks "Gah...where am I?..." She sits at the edge of the bed she woke up on as she scans the room she finds herself in.

"My place." Leo speaks up. His clothes were different, he didn't even bother hiding who he was to her anymore.

"Leo...augh...my head…"

"Well you did drop and hit the ground pretty hard when you fainted...plus it seemed like your brain was exploding from the inside as well at the time. So I would assume you currently have one hell of a migraine!"

"Yeah...now tell me this…" She taps her fingers together "Are you my son?"

"Eh…you're half right with that assumption."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You'll see eventually if i'm correct with my timing...but for now I guess I should explain the things I'm able to. I am Parappa's son. That much is true." His tail unwraps itself from his waist. It's long like Katy's, but the end is bushy much like Parappa's tail "I have come back from the future to help my dad out in preventing something that negatively affects his state of mind and his life. It affected him so badly that it spread to EVERYONE…"

"Well I mean it would make sense. Parappa is the beacon of joy to all he involves his life with! To have that go south...you go down with him."

"Yeah well...I didn't like what was going on...so young, idiotic, eight year old me got himself sent back-"

"You were EIGHT when you went back in time?!"

"Let me finish before you choose to get upset with me like PJ did."

"Alright…"

"I used an invention of my dad and grandpa that they accidentally made. It was a car that could travel through time. I thought I could go back in time and help my dad with the event that horribly affected his life. However...I overshot my target time period...and so I spent 12 years of my life trying to survive TO the point that I could help my dad and you all. So with the help of Mushi and a few others, I managed to make a living. Unfortunately...I forgot what the event that hurt my dad so badly was...all I can remember is that it happens around this age period of his life…"

"So that's why you were so cool with Mushi...who else helped you?"

"Some people who are unfortunately long gone...the only few remaining people are just Mushi and Nana K."

"Nana K? Who's that?"

"Not even I know! She was just a nice lady who helped me out once she found me. I told her about my 'mission' and she quickly helped me find my way towards staying alive. And so with skills I learned and inherited from my family, i.e. you guys, I became 'Leo Steps! Performer extraordinaire!'" He slumps into an open chair "Now don't get me wrong...with a family like you guys, it was only natural I would follow in my dad's footsteps and become like that anyway...but I didn't enjoy this because it wasn't that I was doing it for myself...it was that I was doing it to survive and help out my dad discreetly…"

"So that's why you grew sick of the lifestyle…"

"And it's also why I stopped and dropped out for now since I had hit my target year." he yawns "This entire journey was mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting...and to think it could've been for nothing SOOOOO many times throughout."

"What do you mean?"

"Well...I may not remember the event that messes up my family's life, but I do recall thanks to these books I 'borrowed' from them, that there are certain...intrusions along the way. My dad has a habit of finding himself into trouble it seems."

"You have NO idea…"

"Yes and so I decided to lighten the load with his current adventure that he'll be in."

"What do you mean by that?"

"The next big problem he'll face is one hell of a jerk. Who has...HAD...a ton of pawns. Thanks to my involvement in the music scene I was able to confront and lower the amount of supporters the guy had. Making it all the more easier for my dad to deal with him when the time would come! Unfortunately...this kinda made him act earlier than I would've hoped…"

"So now you made a problem bigger…"

"No no!...I think...Look I came back to help you guys and my dad and help I will! I won't let him do anything to you all! In my effort of helping I may have changed some things, but they didn't affect the overall time period!"

"The heck does that mean?"

"Well you see-" Leo feels his body static up again "Oh! Right on time! Now look here, this is what I mean by you being half correct with calling me 'your' son. See...as you said...Parappa seems to be apple in all your eyes right?...and likewise with him?"

"W-What's happening to you…"

"Answer my question please."

"Y-Yes?..."

"Well now I am living proof of his current incompetence! Watch as I now turn in the son combination of him and Lammy!" The static blur encases him entirely, however once it stops…

"Um…"

"I'm sorry to have made you assume I was an instant deal maker-"

"That's not Lammy's hair color…"

"Yes I know that's not Lammy's-...What?"

"Lammy has red hair…"

Leo rushes off to his dresser mirror to gaze at his current form "Oh no…" What he sees is that he does in fact look like a sheep...but not the one he anticipated. He had black and gray wool and black hair at the top while his blonde hair that made his pseudo dog ears were still there. His horns were longer than what they looked like if he were Lammy's son, but he wasn't, he was now...Rammy's son "Ohohoho nohohoho...Dad you are one son of a bit-"

* * *

"Uh...knock knock!"

"Fuck off..."

"Yeah that was a bad attempt…" Parappa scratches the back of his head "But uh...can't blame me for givin it a go!"

"Yes I can…"

"Yeah you can…" The two awkwardly walk about as Parappa still tries to do something to get her to crack a smile and laugh.

"So...how about these wacky inventions am I right? H-Hehe…"

"Feh…"

"Yeah real borin!..." _Man I am sucking at this...well I can't really expect otherwise...I am trying to breakthrough five years of stored pain and suffering…_ "Uh...wanna go outside for a bit to get a breath of fresh, non hell air?"

"Whatever…" As the duo head for the exit, Parappa continuously tries every method capable of inducing laughter, but Rammy is still stalwart with her depressed state of mind. Eventually, Parappa's will feigns as he starts giving up...the two then slump on a bench outside and both heave a heavy joint sigh. Rammy takes this time to pull out a cigarette and lighter from her pocket and quickly lights it and puts it in her mouth.

Parappa notices her smoking and simply looks at her sadly, she glances at him and rolls her eyes, she then blows a puff of smoke. The wind blows it directly into Parappa's face and the pup dramatically begins coughing up a fit as if he were choking, and exaggeratedly falls off the bench onto the ground "GACK...AGH…"

Rammy's eyes continuously dart towards what he's doing on the ground, twitching like an absolute moron on the floor. Rammy soon then snorts a giggle out, but immediately covers her mouth. Parappa notices this, and decides to play it up a notch as he spazzes out even further before doing one final stretch and collapsing on the ground limp. His tongue sticking out as he holds out a flower. Rammy's mouth twists into a smile as she bursts out laughing "N-No fahahahahair!..."

Parappa hops onto his feet "All's fair in the name of helping!"

"B-Buhuhuhut you didn't even trhihihihy for this one!..."

"That's the funny thing about getting someone to smile and laugh. Sometimes you don't really need to try. Guess my dislike of smoke came in handy for something! Who knew?"

"Yohohohou jeheheherk!"

"Sticks and stones won't be breakin my bones~ Now I do believe you gotta hear me out~ Care to accept my help?~"

Rammy manages to stop laughing and looks at him with a cocky grin "That was slightly underhanded. Didn't think you could do such a thing...alright. You have my interest, I'll listen to you I guess. Now how do you expect to help me?"

"Well for starters, with the obvious thing! Wanna be friends?" He gives a beaming smile as he faces her. She simply blinks at his proposal.

"That is the most stupid thing I've ever heard."

"Oh...s-sorr-"

"But hey, I'm in no real position to call anything stupid if I look in a mirror so." She smiles back "Sure mutt. I'll take your offer."

"Great! I know I'll do my best to help you! And I'll do even more so to help rebuild your life and such!" He clings onto her with a big hug.

"H-Hey! Did I say you could hug me?! Stop with the contact you clingy mutt!..." Despite her words, she doesn't really do anything to shove him off "Come on...people are staring…I'm gonna start regretting my decision here…"

"S-Sorry!" He latches off.

"Ugh...whatever...just try not to do that again...or at least not with people around…" She crosses her arms "Alright...now aside from that...what would friends on the overworld do?"

"Well we'd just enjoy what was going on in the immediate area! And currently? We're at a science expo!"

"Yeah sorry, not a fan of geek related things."

"Now now come on! Give it a chance! I can guarantee there'll be things here that even you can't help but be interested in!"

"I highly doubt that." She blows another puff of smoke "But i'm your tagalong now so why not?"

"You're gonna have to get rid of that though...can't smoke in there…"

"Fiiiiine…" she drops the cigarette on the ground and stomps it to extinguish it "Sheesh what a pain…"

"Why smoke at all? It's bad for you!"

"Honestly? I couldn't give two shits about what the hell this does to my insides. All I care is that these things help soothe me down when I enter anxiety hell."

"Eventually they'll do the opposite…"

"That'll be a while, I just started recently so I'm gonna 'keep calm' till then."

"If that's the case then quit it while you're ahead."

"No!"

"Ugh…fine…come on let's go see what there's left to see."

"Fine by me."

* * *

"Why do you look like that?..."

Leo drags his hand along his face before turning back to Katy "Ok. As you know, my dad is Parappa, but my mother...currently varies. I will change appearance based on who my dad currently has on his mind…"

Katy puts two and two together "HIS JEALOUSY!...THAT'S WHY YOU LOOKED LIKE YOU WERE MY KID!"

"Bingo. Now the girl on his mind is who he subconsciously assumes he'll ask to be with him. And clearly. The girl will say yes. Originally I would switch between being your son, Lammy's son, Paula's son or Ma-san's son. Now it seems I may have altered the past a bit to much because now I have a chance of being Auntie Rammy's son…"

"Rammy?...Who's-..." Katy recalls someone constantly calling Lammy out throughout the years of her career "H-HER?! AUNTIE?!"

"Yeppers."

"HOW?!"

"Well...after today...she's gonna be your new roomie!"

"WHAT?!"

"Lemme explain. See this part of history is staying the same. Parappa and her meet at the expo! They never told me what happened that caused them to be friends...but after today they slowly become so overprotective of each other! Think of a good cop, bad cop duo! Rammy is naturally aggressive, but with Parappa around she's tame. Parappa is naturally going for the better and would like to handle things passively, but with Rammy around he sparks up a moxie streak that both gets him into and out of trouble. They become like inseparable twins! However...thanks to me it seems that they now have a possibility of being more than just friends…"

"Now how does she end up our new roommate?"

"She says that she better head off to hell again, but her only options of returning are currently closed off for a good while. So Parappa being the generous soul that he is-"

"Offers her to stay with us…"

"Bingo!"

"Oh joy...Lammy is not gonna like...LAMMY! HER CHANCES OF ASKING-"

"Yeah they're destroyed...she had no chance today thanks to Rammy's arrival...and she won't for a while after...However! Thanks to Parappa, Rammy is much more tolerable of Lammy! Eventually becoming true friends! Even a motivator towards Lammy becoming more assertive, as well as being overprotective of her to! Like a big sis! Unfortunately in the meantime before that happens...Lammy will see no feasible chance of getting near Parappa in the romantic sense…"

"Oh no…" Katy rubs the side of her head "I mean it's nice that they become great friends and destroy the bad past they had...but to have the time in between that be a struggle for Lammy...oy vey that's not gonna be fun…also Auntie?"

"Oh! I call all of my dad's female and male friends Auntie and Uncle! It's a bad habit of mine. You all tried to get me to stop it, but that just made me wanna do it more to a point that now I can't stop it."

"So that's why you called PJ Uncle…"

So you heard us?...heh…"

"I thought it was my imagination...why didn't you tell any of us who you were?"

"That's not exactly easy...also I risked ruining everything...such as getting rid of my canonical mother…"

"Who is your real mother?..."

"Can't tell you."

"Well...how are you sure you haven't already ruined your mission?..."

"Because I'm still changing."

"What?"

"Once I stop changing and end up looking like my canonical body...then I'll know I failed and changed the timeline...right now I'm still changing so it shows that my future will still be the future of this timeline! I haven't made it an alternate timeline yet!"

"How do you know so much?"

"Grandpapa Rappa gave me a book on it!" He pulls out the book he tried giving to PJ "Here!"

"Time Paradoxes and you-" She throws the book to the side "I am not reading that."

"Uncle PJ did the exact same thing...honestly it wouldn't hurt to read...saves me the explaining…"'

"YOU can explain it to the TWO of us later."

"Fine fine…"

She crosses her arms "What else can you tell me?..."

"Well not much...but while I think up some things I can say...you gotta promise to not tell ANYONE else!"

"Why not?!"

"This will most likely complicate so many things! It may even ruin everything!..."

"..." she rests her head on her hand "Ok…"

"Good...thank you...ok so...yeah...once Parappa's back he'll be bringing Rammy with him…Will...you let her stay with you two?..."

"I don't know...how can I sure you're telling me the truth about her?"

"Well...here!" He pulls out the photo he showed to PJ and hands it to her "As you can clearly see. She's part of the group dynamic! Granted it currently shows her as my mom due to...well yeah as you can clearly see."

"Oh man...you're right…" she groans "She's the dream girl he's been talking about isn't she…"

"Dream what now-"

"Well now that it's like THAT! I can't say NO to him since he's trying to help her…" she slaps her forehead "I'd be a hypocrite if I told him to kick her to the curb…Oh...I'm sorry Lammy…"

"I'm sorry…"

"So now that I know why you were panicked over the expo AND what you look like and who you really are...I'm just exhausted...but hey! It does make sense as to how you were also light on your feet with skating, like me! And how you could best me in the laser tag! I clearly taught you!"

"Bingo."

"Man what a struggle to keep this a secret…" she looks at the apartment she's in "Nice place though...The sun really is a bother though…" She covers her eyes as she tries to find the shades she had. Leo hands her a new pair.

"You get used to it against your will…"

She places on the new sunglasses as she looks at him "You look nice to…you certainly inherited little in appearance from Parappa...but there's still some little traits...like your eyes, nose and tail. Also blotches in your fur are white like his! And the blonde part of your hair making dog ears that look like his ears! I'm amazed that something like that is possible!"

"Future you said the same thing to me growing up!" He self consciously grabs his hair "But thanks I guess.."

"Your personality is so weird...I can't get a definite grasp on what it is. The only thing that stays the same is that you're kind and always worry over the others around you. I can take a hint to who passed that down."

"Yeah...as for the schizophrenic rest of me...that's all the cause of constantly swapping who my true mother is...I inherit that from you gals as well...but swapping it isn't exactly fun for my mental stability. Sometimes I'm rarin to go! Ready for everything! Then the next thing I know I'm incredibly angry over everything! Even little things set me off! Next I'm either incredibly competitive or incredibly reserved! Knowing it's for the better to just lay low till I can manage. And finally I'm overly anxious about EVERY little thing! I panic and worry if things will go this way...or that way...I fear interacting with others in case something goes wrong…" He sighs "And NOW i'm gonna be heavily crude and snarky...just my luck…"

Katy soon feels bad due to being a contributing factor in his poor life "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be. I chose to go through all this. And I still will. To make sure I can change all your conjoined future! And by extension mine! I mean I managed twelve years without ruining anything! What's the harm in letting you and PJ in on it?"

"Knock on wood…"

"Relax! It'll be fine. Trust me!" He gives a thumbs up. The demeanor he gives is equal to Parappa's "All you gotta do is believe!" A flash happens as she hears Parappa's voice instead of Leo's. Katy has to rub her eyes to make sure she really is talking to Leo.

Katy smiles "You really are his son." she claps her hands together "Though it isn't a definite guarantee that you're my son...I will dote on you from time to time if that's fine!"

"I mean yeah? Won't it be awkward though?...I'm a twenty year old dude and not an eight year old kid so..."

"It's not awkward unless you make it awkward!"

"And you DEFINITELY stay the same in the future...that I can safely tell you." He rolls his eyes playfully before ending it with a wink. After he winks he changes into an orange and red lamb "Oh would you look at that...he must be doing something sweet right about now…" he then reverts back to his cat appearance "Aaaaaand he fucked it up..."

"Yikes...poor Lammy…"

Leo tosses her the cellphone he got from her "Wanna call?"

"NO! She'll question how i'll know!"

"'Best friend' senses?"

"...Not a bad idea...but no! I'll help her once they get back...seeing as Parappa's gonna be busy with Rammy…" she rubs the side of her head again "Can we go dance now at your club? I'm in one hell of a mindfunk and I need to dance this tension off…"

"You got it!" They head out the door.

"How do you commute when you're at the top floor?"

"Eheh...about that...you better hold on tight when going down the elevator…"

Katy gulps once she hears him mention that.

 _My poor sweet boy...what hell have you gone through for 12 whole years?..._


	17. The Time of our Lives

"Look Rammy! An anti gravity machine!"

"Yawn…"

"Oh over there! A multitask household bot!"

"Tedious…"

"Uh...over there! It's uh-...what is that?" The machine they stare at simply uppercuts another inventor out into the atmosphere. It is the same device Lammy saw prior.

"Whatever it is, it's mildly entertaining...and i'm bored again…"

"Well how about that! A...cat...wash…"

"Fucking why?..."

"U-Um...why not?..."

"Fair enough…" Parappa sighs in relief, but then his father and Guru Ant call him over.

"Oh! Rammy this way!"

"It better be something good…" she dejectedly follows him.

"Over here son and!...Lammy?"

Rammy growls lightly before turning her nose to the air "U-Uh no dad! This is Rammy! Another friend of mine!"

"Oh! Is she related to Lammy?"

"FUCK NO I'M NOT-" Rammy looks to Parappa and sighs in annoyance "No. I am not related to her."

Papa Rappa and Guru Ant glance at each other then at Parappa "E-Eheh...she's uh...not fond of being grouped up with her…"

"Alright…my apologies Miss."

"That's cool...sorry Miss R …" Both Guru and Papa bow.

"Yeah whatever...so what did you wanna show us?"

"Oh right! Well they're about to start showing inventions that have been stored in the scientific hall of fame!"

"Great...old nerd stuff that was impressive enough for nerds to store it in order to show the nerds of the newer generation…"

"Oh come on Rammy! It might have something that'll catch your fancy! Never know!"

"Whatever...let's go…" She heads off before the three.

"Son she's uh…" Papa Rappa scratches under his hat, trying to think of the word.

"Colder than a sea banche?" Guru adds on.

"Well I wouldn't have worded it like THAT!"

"Can't help it, girl's immature as hell."

"Oh you two! Leave her be! I'm trying to help her out of a big problem…"

"Help her? Seems like you're gonna end on the short edge of the stick there man."

"Guru's right son...think that's for the best?"

"Yes! Trust me when I say I know I can and that she NEEDS the help!"

The two older adults stare at each other with their arms folded before looking back to Parappa and saying in unison "If you say so." Then they walk after Rammy.

"Sheesh...guess I have my work cut out for me!..." Parappa follows.

* * *

"So Lammy...you're the guitarist in Katy's band right?" Pinto asks with a tilt of her head.

"Yes I'm the guitarist in 'our' b-band. And probably the b-biggest of the three...wish I kinda wasn't but...eh can't control who the p-people go gaga over…"

"Why wouldn't you enjoy that?"

"Well two r-reasons, the first is I'm...no g-good with popularity or attention...I rather a-avoid interaction or publicity whenever I c-can. And the second reason is...I don't w-wanna usurp the attention...we started M-MilkCan as a joint idea...so I w-want us all to be on an equal footing…" Lammy holds her head in sadness.

"That's pretty admirable!" Pinto looks up towards Lammy's face "And how goes it with the everyday life with Katy and your drummer!"

Lammy perks up "Great! I mean at first glance you would figure the three of us would never get along given our clashing personalities...but honestly? That made it all the more better towards WHY we get along so well. Because we're not just the same person plastered in a group like most bands or groups used to be...and still are! We're just our own, individuals that support the others cons, while being helped by their pros! It's a trio that i'm glad to be a part of and probably always will be for the rest of my days!" She smiles happily.

"Hey you didn't stutter at all telling me that!"

Lammy's smile drops as her face turns red "O-Oh yeah I-I-.."

"Nono! That's ok! It's nice when you have more passion and confidence in the words you speak!" The small puppy gives her a smile similar to her big brother's.

"I didn't know being such a sweetheart ran in the f-family." She giggles lightly "You're a sweet kid Pinto. I'm glad I got to see this side of you to!"

"Thank you! I'm sorry again for...giving off the feeling of death…" She sighs "Kinda a bummer with Katy though…"

"I should probably fix that little mistake. She's not on a date, Leo's just making up for something. But Ma-san, our drummer, kinda taunted Parappa to the point that he now believes it is…"

"S-So they're not?"

"No."

"Well that's a bummer to…"

"Huh?..."

"Cuz i'm now rooting for you to!..."

"O-Oh!...um...t-thanks Pinto!...H-Hehe…" Pinto grabs onto Lammy's hand like a little sister to a big sister.

"No problem! Now come on! Let's go look at the cool stuff they have here!" She drags the lamb with her

"W-WHOAAAA!...Y-You sure do have an interest in this sorta stuff d-don't you Pinto?"

"Well yeah! I like making stuff! It's cool to see what can be made from what! Dad says I have the brain power to probably do better than the people here!"

"Wow. That's some heavy praise."

"I mean I guess he's right, I did skip a few grades due to my IQ level."

"Is that so? You're one smart puppy!"

Pinto's tail wags from the praise "I'm glad you think so! I hope to be a big name in the science field one day!"

"A smart kid like you? You'll go far I'm sure of it!" _I'm glad I got to see this side of you sooner rather than later._

* * *

" _And first off, here we have the device that lead to the discovery of how space travel would come to be! With this prototype satellite! We eventually evolved the tech into that which would become the satellites of today! Or even our own rockets and spaceships!"_

"Wow...to think that dinky little thing would be what inspired space travel!"

"I've seen better smaller things than that at a-…"

"R-Rammy please don't finish that sentence…"

"Pffft...pansy."

" _And up next we have here the this old box right here! This little box here before it went kaput could reignite memories of old! The device would later see a cease in usage due to causing problems within the neural system if the target was trying to dig up things their psyche tried to purposely forget! This would later become the inspiration of Movie theaters, television and even cell phones of today!"_

"Now that's one heck of a use for something that used to damage heads!"

"I'm just glad it inspired tv and cell phones."

"Eheh…" This would go on as Rammy would find little to no interest in the objects. She almost walked out until…

" _And last but most certainly not least! This final device was made by Papillon Rappa!"_

"Hey dad isn't that your name?"

"Oh no…" Papa Rappa pulls at his shirt collar.

The show floor opens up tremendously as a massive object rises from the depths below " _Here we have the massive behemoth of a weapon created by Papillon at the age of nine! That's right! Thirty three years ago today!"_

Parappa and Rammy stare at the massive weapon before them "Your pops made THAT?!"

"I'm just as surprised as you are...dad?..."

Papa Rappa scratches his head "Ah...you see...remember when you called me and explained what the MC told you?..."

"...you mean…"

" _THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS! Flashback three decades ago! There was a massive clash between a group of centaur-esque beings that boomed in the genre of rock and roll! Clearly with such a pedigree in their own singing and rocking talents they thought themselves the better and wanted to overwhelm all else! Then an accident struck! Merging them all into one titan of a beast! Were it not for Papillon's massive weapon over here! Many people would not have seen the light of tomorrow! This music and rhythm powered ballistic boomer is the reason so many towns got to exist in the first place! Such as the quaintly named PaRappa Town that Papillon takes residence in!"_ A spotlight turns on and strikes down on Papa Rappa " _Now give a hand all you young aspiring scientists of tomorrow! This gentleman right here is one of seven that allowed you all to even exist in our happy little future of today! Now give him the round of applause on this momentous day!"_ Everyone claps, but Papa Rappa did not want any of it.

Parappa recalls the night of Mushi explaining everything "The Magna Groove Cannon...so this is what it looked like…"

"The hell were you fightin old man that made you have to invent that?!"

"Monsters...once people that didn't wanna go down so easily...and became on giant abomination...and this was the only thing that could bring it down...I'm not proud of it...but I didn't really have much of a choice…"

"But you saved so many people dad!"

"But not everyone...I couldn't save Potter's little sister or the entirety of Garden Love...I couldn't save the Flambeyonds or the Cruisin's...I couldn't help the people I cared about...I couldn't even save my older brother!..."

"I have an uncle?!"

"You HAD an uncle…" He looks to the ground "One I failed to save thanks to my own selfishness and incompetence…"

"O-Oh…" _But when I spoke to everyone...they didn't mention my dad's brother dying...something doesn't add up…_ Parappa is snapped out of thoughts by Rammy elbowing him.

"Man you didn't tell me your old man was a rugged war vet!"

"Eheh...slipped my mind…"

"OR THAT HE BUILT A FUCKING MEGA CANNON! Thing looks like it could blow up anything! Point it at the moon, boom it's gone!"

"Yeah...first I'm seein it for myself actually…"

"If THIS is what these shut ins are capable of making, then this is certainly a hell of an interesting thing after all!"

"Glad something caught your fancy!" _Just wish...it was something else...although...it would make sense that this would be interesting to you. So I guess this is how I'll get your attention...sorry dad...I'll have to use you as a middleman here…_ "Uh hey dad! Mind uh...telling us more about that thing!"

"I uh...don't think I have it in me to- W-WHOAAAAA! H-HEEEY!" A stampede of people begin carrying Papa Rappa away "WHAT'S GOING OOOOOOOON!"

"D-Dad!"

The stampede begin asking Papa Rappa question over his big invention and others he made at the time and what he currently makes now "UNFORTUNATELY SON IT SEEMS I'LL BE PREOCCUPIED AGAINST MY WILL FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE TRIP!...I'LL SEE YOU WHEN IT'S TIME TO GOOOOOOOOOOooooooo…" His voice fades off when he's fully out of sight.

"Aw man…I wanted to learn more about his stuff...but I am not fighting against rowdy nerds just to find out more…"

"Sorry Rammy…"

"Nah, don't sweat it. I should be the one apologizing, don't get used to that though. Anyway, I was wrong. There are interesting things around here. Wanna show me more?"

"Gladly!" The duo walk off to inspect more of the expo, but as they wander about, they end up bumping into…

"OOF…"

"ACK!..." Both Lammy and Rammy fall over onto their rears after colliding into each other.

"Lammy! Rammy!"

"Gah my-...wait…"

"Owowowow...huh?...uh oh…"

"YOU!...YOU WERE HERE AFTER-..." Rammy calms down and turns to Parappa "So you knew huh?..."

"I...wanted to avoid you relapsing back to how you were…"

"Ugh…" She sighs "Thanks…" She glares at Lammy "You know...forget it...he's right. I'm to exhausted to be dealing with this petty mess…frankly I just don't want to go back to attempting to kill myself over it."

"Y-You were gonna w-what?..."

"How about a temporary ceasefire till I just get off this damn mess that i'm in with myself?..." She scoffs as she holds out her hand in an attempt to be civilized.

Lammy swallows roughly as she forces a smile "I-I guess t-that sounds n-nice!...T-Though I rather it be a c-complete c-ceasefire!..."

"Maybe...I don't know right now…"

"U-Uh...s-still…" She grabs Rammys hand "I'm o-ok with that i-idea nonetheless…" She struggles to say the next sentence "You...w-wanna try becoming friends o-ourselves?..."

"Don't get ahead of yourself...I'm not that over it yet...I'm currently tolerating you thanks to this guy right here…" Parappa chuckles awkwardly once pointed to "Us as friends?...I don't know about that...I just can't picture it after all I've gone through by your hands. Intentional or not."

"I-I never meant for any of t-that though…"

"Yet you still did it…"

"H-Heh...c-can't help that...o-once a g-guitars in my hands...I just...g-go with it…"

"But you didn't have a guitar in your hands…"

"T-The g-guitar was...in my...m-mind…" Lammy sheepishly backs off on instinct.

"...Uh huh…course it was..."

"I-I'm serious...s-someone t-taught me that t-to try and get over m-my anxiety…"

"Well I'd say they overdid the teaching…" She turns around "But what fucking ever I guess…" She goes back to Parappa, then turns her head to her again "You two tagging along? I can only assume you arrived here with him so...what?"

"Of course we are! Uh…" Pinto tries to address the black sheep by her name.

"Rammy."

Pinto looks to Lammy then back to her "Um...you sure you aren't related?..."

"We're sure…" The two ewe say in unison as the two groups become on and carry off. When Lammy tries to walk near Parappa for an emotional stability booster, she's cut off by Rammy who does the same, forcing Lammy to backoff from confliction.

The day comes and goes as the roles are reversed for the two ewe. Rammy actually finally enjoying herself happily...while Lammy is left with dread and despair and loneliness. "Hehe...I honestly can't believe I enjoyed myself…"

"Told you I could help out!"

"Yeah, so you did. And I'm…" her mouth tries to say the next word, but struggles due to never saying the word unironically "T-Th-a-nkf-f-uuuul…" she rubs the sides of her mouth to relax and soothe it from the pain "Ow…"

"Did you...never use that word before?"

"I never give any form of thanks that isn't false or sarcastic...this was a first and it was a struggle just to say it…" She continues rubbing her cheeks "But I don't regret that. I really am...that word...to you! You really did perk me back up quite a lot. And to think you're gonna help me out of the bind I'm in with myself!" She stops rubbing "Honestly...didn't think a person like me warranted any help...and not like I would ever ask...I'm to prideful and stubborn...so it was just...deal with it...or have someone actually offer by their own accord...and obviously the second was never gonna happen. But to my blessings...it finally did." She smiles. It's a regular cute smile that you would never expect her to be capable of such a thing, but there she goes "I've been a bother to you today long enough. I'll go back to hell for today." Lammy's ears perk up at the sound of that.

"You'll be back right?...you won't do anything to harm yourself in the meanwhile?..." Parappa says with a puppy whine following after.

She chuckles "Yessssss. Don't worry dude. I'll be fine now that I know I have someone who has my back." She turns and waves "Rock on Mu- Rock on Parappa, see ya next time." she goes on her way as Parappa waves back.

Lammy watches the duo and sighs, to which Parappa's instincts kick in once again "Lammy you ok?"

"Oh y-yeah I'm fine!...c-could be better, b-but I am happy that you...f-found who you w-wanted to help…"

"Thanks but...are you upset with who I have to help?..."

"N-No! Not at a-all!..." _I think…_ "It's all g-good here! R-Really!"

Parappa doesn't buy it, but smiles nevertheless "Well let's go get my dad. I have singing lessons that I owe to you! Especially more so since you were such a good sport over Rammy's inclusion!" He rests his knuckles on his hips "And I wanna hear you sing some more! We'd probably draw that crowd in again with our voices!"

"H-Hehe...y-you think s-so?...~" She starts overheating from the happy attention that the dog is giving her "Yeah! Jammin with Rammy made me wanna hear you sing again! Speaking of Rammy I hope she gets to hell ok."

Pinto speaks up as she tugs on her brothers shirt "That is if she ever moves from that spot over there!" She points towards Rammy, who stands still in place twitching.

"Wha?...Hey Rammy! Something wrong?..." Parappa shouts to the paralyzed ewe.

Rammy slowly turns around with her teeth bared and clenched as angry tear streaks pour out from her eyes "I-I have no way TO g-get back to hell…"

"WHAT?!" the two dogs and the lamb say in unison.

"T-The main path to get here is fucked up...and the path that I took here...kinda blew up when we finished our face off…"

"Oh...riiiiiiiight…" Parappa ponders for a second, before snapping as a light bulb appears above his head "I KNOW! You can come stay with us!" Lammy internally screams, donning the pose of the action of the same name, at such a pitch that she shatters into pieces externally. Pinto merely facepalms at her brothers incompetence.

I'm sure Katy will be fine with it! Oh...right...Katy…"

Rammy walks up to the dejected dog "You sure about that?..."

Parappa shakes his head, the thoughts still in his mind, but he tries to perk up for Rammy's sake "Yes! I'm certain she won't mind! If anything she has to now that she knows there WAS someone I did have to help!"

"How many people you already rooming with?..."

"The entire MilkCan band!"

"That's THREE other people man! I think that's a bit to crowded don't you think? I mean I could just find a place under a bridge or intersection. Or a bench. Rather not go into that."

"NO! I assure you things will be fine!"

Rammy glances at Pinto scooping up the Lammy fragments on the ground "Uh huh...sure…

* * *

"My stomach...oh man I'm about to vomit...that elevator is a safety hazard…" Katy says as she holds her stomach as her head becomes purple.

"Welcome to my daily life!" Leo says, unfazed, completely used to the mess they just rode.

"How can you be so fine with that?!"

"Five years of that tends to grow on you. Better than taking the stairs anyway."

"I am helping you find a new apartment! No questions asked!"

"I don't have to pay for my current one."

"I cannot find a deal better than that so nevermind!" Katy sighs "Let's...just head to the dancefloor...and did you really need your helmet again?" Katy stares at the helmeted Leo, the screen fixed.

"Yes! Can't be having people see me!"

"But everyone in this town knows what you look like!"

"And you never know when you'll bump into someone new."

"You are stubborn…" she scoffs "Let's just go." They leave the large building and drive off towards Leo's club, on the way however.

"So you never told me about that getup. You say it was gonna be yours...but that means it was already that size to begin with. You clearly weren't this tall as an eight year old...and judging by the initials on each article of clothing...they were clearly gonna be hand-me-downs."

"Good eye. The helmet was actually Uncle PJ's and Auntie Sweety's! PJ used the music related functions for his DJing career, and Sweety used the other parts of it for family things, such as the emotion scanner to see whenever PJ or their daughter were hiding something they didn't wanna get off their chest, even though they really should've. Or the lie detector function for maximum overmom mode!"

"PJ and Sweety start a family?! That's so cute!"

"Yeppers!"

"But tell me that later when he's around so I can tease him in revenge! For now carry on!"

"The Jacket Jetpack was Paula's. She wanted to achieve a lot of things in the air. Mainly an old dream of hers being 'getting lost in the clouds' or actually 'reaching for the sky'. Also a little showboating in the air from time to time! The Backup Dancer belt was YOURS! You wanted more flashy things around whenever MilkCan was playing at their gigs! The jeans I have on allow for immense flexible movement, they adjust to everybody movement flawlessly, and even help go further! Also give me better move altogether. Whenever I just wanna go faster! It belonged to Lammy. The shoes I have also help with mobility as well as jumping and other leg coordinated action! They're even capable of sticking to any surface allowing me to walk up walls! These were Ma-san's! And last but not least, the gloves I have on allow for any form of grip. No slip. No pain. Blister prevention for when playing a guitar. Built in heating and cooling pads for when drumming, playing the piano or remixing for an extended period of time! It also let's me punch the more harder in case I need to discipline anyone who's being a bad sport in the club. It never comes to that though thankfully. And as you would expect. They belonged to Rammy."

"Wow your get up is just a culmination of things that belonged to all of us...and did Matt not give anything?"

"Who do you think helped my dad MAKE these?" He chuckles "Why do you think they look like this specific style?"

"Aaaaah...that explains a lot. No wonder you look nearly similar to his current get up."

"Yup!" He stops the car as they arrive at his club "And voila! Here we are~"

"Great! The dance floor is calling my name!" She hops out of the car and sprints off, but stops mid way "I just hope Lammy's doing ok about now…"

"I'm sure she's doing fine."

"I mean I suppose she is...but I'm really curious as to what Parappa did that had you flash to being their child for about under a minute before reverting back to our child…"

"With Dad...it's REALLY hard to tell...anything could set off his attention of the current girl on his mind. Be it civilized, heart driven, brain driven...probably even perversion driven…"

"Gross…"

"He is a guy. And...granted I am as well so…eh? I dunno."

"Guys are weird, but not Parappa! He's to pure for that. And as should you be! You are his son!"

"I guess you got me there." an ellipsis appears on his helmet screen "Let's get to dancin already!"

"Okok! Let's!" They rush in.

* * *

"Honestly Parappa...I seriously don't think this will work out in the slightest."

"Beats just sleepin on the streets! If anything I'll give you my room for the time bein if need be!"

"I don't feel like that's a good idea…"

"Why's that?"

"I can't imagine the three of them being happy that I'm taking your room."

"But you're not taking it. I'm giving it to ya!"

"I hope they buy that."

"They wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiill! Trust me alright?" Parappa crosses his arms "Wonder what's taking my dad…"

"That was a long line of people. I wouldn't be surprised if he still had people to talk to."

"I guess you're right…"

* * *

Meanwhile with Papa Rappa, he is finally finished with handling the mob of questioning people "Phew...alrighty! Is there anyone else that has anything else to say?...Last call!"

"I do. If you pardon my late intrusion." A older man walks up. He shocks Papa Rappa. He was a humanoid man. He wore a red vizor that had pointed edges diagonally upwards at the end of the corners. His hair was white and jagged in a bizarre style. His smile was grand and bared all his glimmering teeth. He sports a red bowtie with an odd symbol on it. He wears a blue and red suit and pants with black pointed shoes. He sports white gloves that tug on his shirt collar.

"Oh! A regular human! Rarely see any of you interested in this field! You all usually end up as reporters!"

"Well...you're not wrong there. I am a host in television media! Covering info on the big hits of the music industry! Adding them along in my studio casting ascending their fame!. Of course I have a heavy interest in the technological works. A byproduct of electrical engineering is the future is music I always say. But we have yet to reach that when we have yet to acquire a proper data understanding of the media we have today!"

"What a weird profession...but I ain't one to judge! I'd be happy to answer what you have to ask Mr…?"

"Bohemian Tycoon Sound-Proof."

"Huh...fancy name! Can't help but feel like it's familiar…" Papa Rappa scratches his head.

"Don't be silly old boy! I haven't really made much publicity with my name!" he smiles slyfully.

"Yeah...yeah you're right! My apologies Mr. Tycoon! It's just you name...for some reason reminded me of someone horrible…"

"Oh? Well how horrible was this individual?"

"He ended up starting a massive war between so many good hearted and innocent people...he caused the deaths of hundreds!...it was a huge mess...I ended up having to build THAT to stop people who were led astray…"

"So you are the one who built this then right? And it's powered by music correct?"

"That it is. I didn't feel right just building a flat out weapon of mass destruction, so I added that. A bad heart can carry no real rhythm! So no terrible people could truly use it! Another reason was that it's meant to regulate the strength of the thing...if it didn't have it...it'd just be terrible...point it accidentally at one thing...and it's gone...terminated...erased…"

"I see…" He chuckles lightly under his breath to not be heard "And you built this to kill that terrible man?"

"Well...at the time if he was around? I would've used it to wipe him out...but no...it was to stop the group that was completely poisoned by his words… But I...I never saw the man...I don't even recall his name...they never told me! All they called him was BoTy! And I could never understand why…"

Bohemian chuckles as his bowtie glows "Yes...that is a puzzler~..."

"Hey sir how old are you? You seem so young, but your voice is that of an older gentleman! I can only deduce you're older than me! And i'm already forty two!"

"Smart hound! Would you believe me if I told you I was actually reaching triple digits?"

Papa Rappa's eyes widen "H-How?!"

"I have to come clean old boy. I am not human. At least...not anymore. You see an accident struck me...a young individual wielding a guitar that was also a weapon! Came at me and slashed me to pieces! Can you believe that? Five years ago!"

"H-How are you alive?..."

"That's the beauty of it! I have had this body in reserve, built in secret over a fear of mine. Aging to dust. I was contemplating switching my conscious here to extend my life, seeing as a machine can outlive flesh and blood! But I could never manage because I always assume I could figure out something for my real body...then of course I was brutally assaulted! For no reason mind you! And he made my choice for me! And honestly? I have to thank him. Now I am a being made of flesh and metal. I can outlive every single thing now. My career can extend for ages, allowing me to eventually achieve my dream!"

Papa swallows roughly "W-Wow that's uh...quite a tale...do you hate that young man?..."

"At first I did. He was a rather unyielding lad. All I did was wanted him to become part of my media, but he refused...and then attacked me! But then he made me see the drawbacks of a body made of flesh. They expire far to easily! And so with this body I can do what I couldn't easily do with a flesh body. I don't suffer exhaustion or pain. I can't suffer any illness. And I have no need to consume anything so I can keep working! Even more so since I don't require sleep! What was once hatred is now a strong sense of decency to pay him back for the generosity he's done for me! He opened my eyes!" the booming voice of Tycoon can't help but curdle Papa Rappa's blood "And you old boy...don't you feel the grievances of age catching up?"

"Well I'd be a liar if I didn't admit to that…"

"Then why not follow my footsteps? You are a genius mind! To lose it would be a waste towards the world!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I just couldn't find happiness in that life. I'm not genius, just a fun guy with a curious brain. The prestige of all the newer generations of inventors means nothing to me if I can't age alongside my family...And I could never ask them to do that either...they have their own lives. Their own group of people they care for...their own opinions on immortality! I could never do it even if everyone in existence did it! Life would get boring...nothing would change...it would stay stagnant along with the people...That's not living…"

"You are a fool…"

"And I'll happily admit to that! That's my way of thinking on the matter and that will never change! And I'm glad for that fact!" He tugs at his shirt happily "I'm happy being the caring father of two amazing children, both of which inherited my, and their late mother's, curious brains!"

"Really now?..."

"Yes sir! And not only that Mr. Tycoon, one of them may even be on your fancy media as well!"

Tycoon immediately regains interest "Is that so?..." He leans in "Who?..."

"Oh that's simple It's-...WHOA! IS THAT THE TIME?! I HAVE TO GET GOING!" Papa Rappa picks up his things "You were an interesting guy Mr. Tycoon! I hope you find joy in your eternal life!" He runs off.

"Yes...I most certainly will...bah...it doesn't matter who it is. I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually...heh...or if they're like you? They'll come to me!" Tycoon turns around and walks off.

* * *

"Man Parappa, I didn't think your old man was this popular among the scene of science...just worries me over the invention he's bound to make me test out…" Guru shudders in fear.

"Oh come on Guru! Dad wouldn't do anything harmful to you! You should know us better!"

"I mean I don't doubt that, but I just hope after today he isn't inspired...I mean did you see that BIG thing?! If he's capable of making THAT-"

"DAD WOULDN'T MAKE A THING LIKE THAT AGAIN!" Rammy, Lammy, Pinto and Guru stare at Parappa due to being caught off guard by his sudden outburst "U-Um...I mean…he wouldn't have a reason to…"

"I guess...sorry man…" They all stay silent in the awkward tension around them until they hear someone

"SORRY SORRY!" Papa Rappa runs up to them "Oh man...there was just so many people with so many questions...I just couldn't find the time to escape them...so I just had to answer them all...phew...At least I'm back now!" He notices Rammy "Oh, is your friend coming with us?"

"Yeah! I invited her over to my new place."

"Y-Yeah...he did do t-that…" _unfortunately…_

"And I guess I agreed to it."

"Well alrighty then! All aboard! We got a long trip back!" Everyone nods as they pile into his car "And away we go!"

* * *

"Man. Having this huge place to myself is so nice…I can dance...sing...do absolutely anything...especially since you're the owner and technically my kid...I wonder...HEY CAN I-"

"You are not gonna run around naked through the entire inside of my club."

"Aw come ooooooon…There's always a crazy time when a member of a band does something so out there! Granted I would never do anything of the sort in public cuz I'm a huge weenie, I can't help but not wanna try to be apart of that in a secluded place!"

Leo plucks off his helmet "No means no!"

She crosses her arms "As your partial mother I order to you to let me."

"You have no jurisdiction over me! I'm as old as you!" Katy simply stares at him, doing a pose a mother would when they catch their child being a brat "Hah! Like that'll work on me!..." Her eyes squint as they burn a hole into his psyche "Y-You're not g-getting to me you k-know!..." Her tail whips the ground with the sound echoing throughout the whole club "N-Not working!...h-heh…" she begins tapping her foot along with her tail slapping the ground "ALRIGHT!...I break to easily...I've been raised to well…" He sighs "Let me just lock the door to prevent any unwanted visitors from seeing you…"

"Yes!" She fistbumps the air.

"This is bad parenting!"

"No this is me conditioning my son to not be a prude!"

"But you don't know if you are my mother or not! The other three...er...four, have just an equal shot!"

"While that maybe true, you still listened to me didn't ya?~ That means I still have some jurisdiction over you regardless!"

"...yeah whatever..." He locks the door.

"Great! Now you take your stuff off to."

"HUH?!"

"Well duh, I can't do it by myself! I'd wimp out halfway!"

"CAN'T YOU ASK PARAPPA, PJ OR MATT?!"

"No! They're boys!"

"I'M A BOY!..." Leo takes massive offense to the previous sentence.

"A boy who had a one in fifth chance of coming from me!"

"OR THE OTHER FOUR GIRLS! SPEAKING OF WHICH WHY NOT THEM?!"

"Lammy would never be caught dead doing such a thing. I don't know Rammy that well so no. Ma-san would secretly record me and blackmail me forever. And Paula would turn it into a competition comparing bodies and force you to judge. And would you really wanna do that?"

"Nghhh…" Leo's eye twitches as he struggles to comprehend Katy's way of thinking.

"Well then?" Leo stays there, foaming at the mouth in confusion "Am I gonna have to assert my motherly dominance again?"

"NO!...Fine!...ugh…you are so crazy..."

"I'm fun!"

"How is this fun for me?!"

"You're helping the band leader of your favorite band! I.e. your mother! Also awww you love your mother's band the most~ I just caught onto that! You are such a sweet boy~"

"I feel as if my kindness is now my downfall." Leo's face turns green as his eyes spiral "I'm gettin dizzy…"

"Oh come on! It's just a little fun! Not like anyone's gonna find out are they?"

"No, but not like that matters to me anyway…"

Katy's joy turns into a serious aura "Wait...Why not?"

"I uh...already may have had...a bit of skin...show on some...album covers of mine...during my career…"

The serious tone fades away "Oh is that it. Phew...man you had me worried there. No son of mine-"

"Or the other four"

"Is gonna exploit his own body for a dumb gain!"

"Oh now you choose to be the sensible parent…"

"I'm outgoing, not an idiot. My ways of having fun maybe a tad to much at times, but they're still sensible and within reason!"

"I suppose so…but again...like you yourself said, you're partially my mother. And that's the part that I'm just off about."

"But right now I'm currently NOT your mother! Current Katy is just some other gal! So no weirdness there! Like I said, it's not awkward unless you make it awkward!"

"What kind of backwards logic is that?!" Leo stops. _Of course...I'm in no position to talk...I did end up going back in time only to struggle like a complete moron for twelve years straight…_ "Ugh...Fine."

"Look look, if it helps...think of this as catching up!"

"Catching up?..."

"Well yeah...you missed twelve years with your family...they never got to see you grow up into the Leo of today...that's heartbreaking...I can only imagine how that must've been for you…" she looks to the ground "I just thought I could help you have fun and make up for that with the people of the current time…"

"I uh…" _I don't GET her!...She's like the most responsible AND irresponsible person!...huh...like me…oh wow._ Leo stares at Katy who only stares at the ground.

"It's fine if you don't want t-OOF!..." Katy is silenced by a shirt hitting her in the face "Waz-huh?" It's Leo's, and when she looks up she sees him doing as told.

"Well don't just stand there! Wanna catch up or not?!"

"Atta boy!" She bounces in place causing Leo to rolls his eyes as he carries on.

After the clothes fly off, the duo line up at the entrance of the club like racers about to run off. They then look at each other.

"Ready to go partner?"

"Not really...can't believe I actually let you talk me into this…"

'Well if it makes you feel better. I'm not ready either! To be honest I didn't actually plan on this going through!"

"YOU WHA-"

"Up up up! But since it did, why not go through with it? After all, it's all in good fun!"

"...Yeah...ok…" He smiles "This is probably the craziest thing I'm ever going to do..."

"Likewise!"

"You don't count!"

"Oh shush!" Leo's helmet lights up red from the counter it's placed on "Well you better get ready!"

Leo's helmet lights up yellow "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"That's the spirit!" Leo's helmet lights up green.

Both of them release a joint gulp as the helmet says go and they run off like crazy lunatics, screaming for no comprehendable reason. They run and run and soon the screams turn into laughter as they play about like young children streaking around their own homes when their parents are away. After a while they finally stop and get redressed again.

"That really was fun!"

"Gotta admit, I did enjoy that to surprisingly…"

"Told you! A mother knows best!"

"Yeah yeah~" Leo dusts off his helmet as there's a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" Katy runs off, but stops midway "And the best part is, no one will be the wiser cept us!" She carries on and opens the door and is greeted by PJ "Whoa! Hey there PJ! What are you doin here?"

"Oh hey Katy. I thought Leo would've taken you back home by n-" PJ notices Leo is without his helmet on and quickly sprints past her, sending her into a topspin, to try and put the helmet on him.

"A-ACK! P-PJ STOP! SHE KNOWS!..."

"She does?..."

Katy manages to stop spinning as she dizzily faces the two "Y-Yeaaaaah...he told meeeee…"

"Huh...I figured Katy would be the last person you let in on given her talkative nature…"

Katy shakes her head to recover out of her dizzy state "RUDE! I'll have you know I am probably the MOST trustworthy in this situation!"

"She plucked the helmet off your head didn't she?"

"Yes…" Leo looks down.

"Even if I didn't! I'm sure my own son would tell me!"

"Katy you have a one fifth chance to be his mother!"

"Still his mother by a sliver of a chance!"

"Leo you sure it's best she knows?"

"Well...yeah! I know I can trust her! Katy may be fun and aloof, but after today I know I can have her word on keeping this all a secret!" Katy smiles as she crushes Leo in a hug.

"MY SON TRUSTS MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"I'M...NOT...YOUR SON...GUARANTEED...NOW PLEASE...LET ME BREATHE…" She doesn't hear him or let him go as he faints from lack of oxygen.

"Uh Katy...you're crushing the life outta your partial kid…"

"Huh?..." she looks at Leo who's eyes say the letters 'K' and 'O' as a comical little ghost flies out of his mouth "O-Oops...Guess I got to overemotional…"

"I can see that." PJ pats her on the back "Well until he wakes up, mind telling me what happened? And what he told you? I wanna compare what I learned to what you learned."

"Sure I guess...but uh… he was my ride home...I hope he wakes up soon…"

"Relax! I'm fairly confident in what I learned from him! I even drove myself here! So I'm sure I can take you back."

Katy recalls seeing Leo nearly vomit from riding with PJ "U-Uh...t-that's ok! I'm fine with w-waiting. He wanted to drive me around from start to finish anyway."

"Ok." He huffs, clearly upset "Now talk!"

"Alright! Well...for starters...I'mma have a new roommate thanks to Parappa…"

"Is it Rammy?..."

"So you know about her to?"

"Yeah thanks to him. He said she entered our lives after the expo. Which was today so-"

"You knew and didn't tell us ahead of time?"

"I didn't KNOW she'd be your new roommate!"

"Fair enough…" She snaps her finger "But hey! Leo tells me she's gonna be a sweetheart!...eventually…"

"In the meanwhile?"

"In the meanwhile she's gonna usurp Parappa's attention…"

PJ reels back into a chair as his arms go behind his head "Joy. That won't become problematic to our group dynamic." He glances over to Leo "So i'm sure he filled you in on his appearance thing?"

"He showed me it!"

"Oh did he? I wonder what Parappa's thinking about right now to be thinkin of you."

"He's probably jealous right now."

PJ nearly chokes on his laughter "Jealous?! Him? Over you? This I gotta hear."

"I'm serious!" smoke comes out of her head "Parappa thought Leo was taking me on a date and he started getting all twitchy! He even stared at Leo like he was gonna rip his head off! Leo can testify to that!" She looks at the unconscious cat "After he wakes up!"

PJ still chuckles in disbelief "I mean I could believe it if it was Sunny, but now it's just so amazing that he'd rebound so quickly! And towards you no less!"

"Geez...offense taken to the max…"

"Sorry, but what I mean by that is. It's shocking that he's now actively with interest. Parappa was one to-" PJ remembers what he promised Parappa "Um...nevermind. Point is. It's astounding. Now that means he has a heavy thing for you! And now that means you can make a more! Go for it!"

"I know...but I can't...I'll be spending my time helping Lammy cheer up…"

"Huh?" PJ then recalls what Leo said about Rammy "Oh yeah...doppelganger from hell…"

"There's more to Rammy than just that! But uh...close enough. Yes Rammy is the reason why she'll be needing to be cheered up…"

"Well that's upsetting." He tilts his shades downward "And you're just cool with having a girl like that invade your lives?"

"Well I saw the picture...she had her arm wrapped around Lammy and vice versa so they clearly end up the best of friends!...and besides the whole point of Parappa becoming our roommate was to cheer him up. And he said he was meant to help Rammy! So if I don't let him help her I'll end up being a hypocrite…" She drags her hand along her face "I'm kinda forced into letting her from my own words...Ma-san's gonna be so angry with me...and Lammy's just gonna struggle throughout the time we have to house her…"

"Would it have been the same had Leo not told you I wonder?"

"Since it is the future, I'm sure Parappa would've convinced me regardless…"

"That's probably true." PJ scoots around the ground until his chair gets caught in something "Huh?..." he looks down then quickly turns his gaze to Katy, unamused "This wouldn't happen to be yours would it." Katy stares at the object in his hands, it was her bra.

"U-Uh…" She's shushed by PJ tossing it to her face.

"I don't even wanna know…"

"E-Eheh...good because I'd rather die than tell you…"

"What the hell did I barely just miss as I arrived?..."

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with!"

"Just put that back on…"

"Don't gotta tell me twice…" she heads off to Leo's private quarters to place the bra back on as PJ out of reflex slaps Leo upside the head so hard he wakes him up.

"OWWWW?!"

"Oh hey...the slap of life."

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

"You weren't doing anything questionable before I arrived were you?"

"I am under parental obligation to not be able to tell you."

"Fine. Just tell me if it was your idea."

"It was not."

"Alright. I apologize." He slaps Leo again.

"OW. WHAT NOW?!"

"For letting her go through with whatever it was."

"Well it's not like I could say no!"

"Yes you can!" PJ crosses his arm "Don't be an idiot!"

"She's partially my mom! She took advantage of that fact." He slouches "I'm to much of a well raised child to not obey his mom's wishes…"

"Oy vey you inherited to much of Parappa's kindness…" He leans back "Well I mean it didn't seem like a bad thing given how happy she was when she opened the door when I arrived. So whatever it was, I guess I'll let it slide."

"I'm learning more about you two then I'd want to...being an adult sucks…"

"Moreso when you mess with our little group. It's like a pack mentality thing."

"That I do know because you're still like that even then."

"Good. Glad to see we always have one another's back."

"Who's back we got?" Katy says as she walks back over.

"Nothing" PJ readjusts his shades "Just talkin to Leo about stuff."

"Yeah...only talkin...definitely not smacking another up the head for things out of his control…"

Katy looks at the two confused "What did I miss?"

"Nothing." The two reply together.

"Okaaaay...well uh Leo...mind taking me home now?"

"Gladly." He hops out of his chair as he grabs his helmet.

"Really?...Still with the thing?"

"PaRappa Town hasn't seen me without this on and they won't get to!"

Katy throws her hands to the air "Alright, forget I asked. I'll be waiting in the car." She storms out.

"What's her deal?"

"It's probably the fact that you give her hope in her love struggles. And seeing you trying to stay so secretive is probably an offense to her."

"Well so-rry! Not my fault I don't wanna ruin everything I've worked for in twelve years!"

"I understand that perfectly. Good luck getting her to see that, or any of the other girls for that matter whenever they find out."

"God I don't even wanna think about that..."

"I dunno, it might be entertaining to watch."

"For you maybe!"

"And that's all that matters." He laughs as Leo scoffs and leaves the building.

* * *

"Well that was a fun time. Learned some good things, some troubling things and got to even have some fun in a variety of ways!" Katy says as she dances within her seat.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

"That's an understatement! By the way I gave you one hell of a body!"

"Katy please…" a flustered icon appears on Leo's monitor.

"Please nothing! This version of you clearly inherited more than just my face!"

"Eheh…"

"Your as slim as I am! Possibly even slimmer! Got any pointers on that?"

"No just...eating healthy…"

"You? Eat healthy? With hips as big as yours?!"

"That I can't help...I inherited from-"

"You can't pin the blame on me! My hips aren't THAT big!" _Yet anyway._

"I was gonna say dad…"

"Say what."

"Why do you think he wears such baggy pants! And how else do you think they don't sag anymore?!"

"Oh my g-" Katy covers her mouth to stop the onslaught of laughter about to burst out "Now that you mention it...t-that's very o-obvious thinking about it n-now...p-pffft..."

"You're free to laugh, but I don't think that'll earn your way to his heart any time soon."

Katy chokes on her stifled laugh "E-ERM-AHEM! Laugh? Who would laugh at their friends genetically large rear that their future son will inevitably inherit? Not me, no sir!" Leo's helmet emits an eye roll.

"Right...well we're here...and it looks like they beat us by a while...although it looks like Parappa and Rammy decided to wait outside!" Parappa spots them from afar and begins waving towards them "This is our last stop for today! Hope you enjoyed your time. Take care and goodbye!"

"What's with the accent?"

"Tried to sound like a tour guide...sorry…"

"Pffft don't, it doesn't suit you."

"I noticed."

"Well thanks again. And goodbye!" She leans in to whisper without being heard by anyone else " _Take care son~"_ She kisses his helmet monitor.

" _Mother please…"_

" _You called me mom! Eeeeee!"_ she hops out of the car all happily as she walks over to Parappa. However Katy notices that he's frozen in place. The look of dread being plastered onto his face. She quickly walks up to him "Parappa? You alright there?"

"I'm...fine...thank you...for...asking…" He shakes his head as he watches Leo drive off.

 _Oh...Oh he misinterpreted the kiss on the...uh oh…And I can't even explain myself…_ "Uh...sure...anywho...who's this?..."

He calms down with a deep breath "Katy! Now first off I want you to meet Rammy!"

"Yo." Rammy lifts her hand.

"And...don't get mad but...I kinda offered her to stay here-"

"Sure she can stay."

"Aw Katy please! Just let he- Did you say sure?"

"Yeah?"

"Wow I...thought it would be a lot harder than that…"

"Let's just say I had a feeling…" she turns to Rammy "Well it's nice to meet you Rammy!"

"You know who I am."

"H-Heh...that I do…"

"So then why are you so nice…"

"Whaaaat. My lifelong bud Parappa here is offering to help you...and if he's doing that then clearly you're a good person! If you are to him, then you are to me!"

"...wow...I uh...huh...guess I underestimated you…" Rammy awkwardly scratches her cheek.

"Yes you have! Now what living accomodations did you plan for her?"

"She'll be bunking with me!"

"Yes! She'll be bunking with- WHAT?!"

"There it is." Rammy rests her face on her hand.

"A-AHEM! I mean of course she will!" her eye twitches "Smart...innovative...thinking Parappa…"

Parappa blinks in quick succession, dumbfounded at Katy's sudden emotional shift. He's completely oblivious to the fact that he was doing the exact same thing moments ago "Uh...you got something in your eye Katy?..."

"I'm ok...now...come on...let's get her in…"

"Uh...great! Come on Rammy!" The trio head on upwards and upon entering their place, they spot Ma-san and Lammy. Ma-san is on the couch reading a book while Lammy is on the floor, staring at the ceiling with a thousand yard stare.

("Oh hey. You two are back.") Ma-san looks up to see that they have a third person accompanying them ("Who's the metal chick?")

"Ma-san! This is Rammy, the girl I was supposed to help!"

("You mean you actually found that dream chick in the real world?!")

"Yes! Told you!" Parappa triumphantly crosses his arms.

"The hell is she saying?!" Rammy starts to get aggravated at not being able to understand Ma-san "If you're gonna talk about me, at least do it in english so I can understand it...don't mock me with the voice of a drowning person…"

Ma-san's dynamite flickers out a quick spark as she willingly speaks english towards the rude new guest "What did you call my native tongue?"

"It sounds like an idiot who ended up drowning themself! What are you deaf to?!"

"Or maybe you're just to stupid to comprehend it! Think about that?!"

"Oh no…" Katy and Parappa say as they facepalm.

Ma-san and Rammy stay at each others face as electricity sparks between their eyes in anger. They both rear back their fists as if to punch the other girl. Parappa and Katy close their eyes in fear of the worst, but it never arrives. Once the arms fly forward, Ma-san and Rammy grab each other in a hand shake.

"Gotta say, I like your bold, take no shit attitude."

"You're no slouch either mousey! Got that blaze that's ready to go!"

"You're cool in my book."

"Likewise." Both Rammy and Ma-san end up laughing between each other as Katy and Parappa stare in bewilderment.

"What just happened…"

"I...think they became fast friends...huh...didn't see that coming…."

"You and me both Parappa…"

"Yo what's your name."

"Rammy, what's yours?"

"Mar, but call me Ma-san. Now why you here?"

"Looks like I'm gonna be under the same roof as you."

"Is that so? Come on then. Lemme show you around!"

"Sounds good to me!" The two walk off as Parappa snaps out of it and trails after.

"W-Wait Ma-san that's m-my job!"

Katy walks up to Lammy and sits next to her once the three of them are out of hearing range "Hey Lammy…Are you...ok with all this?..."

"I WANNA DIIIIIHIHIHIIIIEEEE…" She slams her face into her hands as she begins crying hysterically on the spot.

Katy wastes no time in hugging her sobbing friend "N-Nonono! Please don't cry!..." Lammy just cries harder "Y-You're gonna get me c-crying…come o-on…"

Thankfully the others didn't manage to catch the two crying on the spot before they managed to stop. Lammy stayed on the couch, completely out of touch with her current surroundings. Katy wanted to help her as much as possible, but it seemed to be far more difficult than originally thought "Katy...can I j-just be left alone…?"

"I can't do that and you know it…"

"Yeah I know…" She huddles up against her knees "Just thought you could...h-honestly not feeling a-anything right now…"

"I'm sure things will be alright in the end...come on…"

"With her h-here?...I doubt it…" she sighs "Think you c-can make her go back to h-hell and cut connections w-with Parappa?..."

"I...can't do that…"

"...I know…"

Katy hugs Lammy again "Trust me Lammy, things will get better eventually… Why maybe you'll even become good friends...and look back on today and regret even wanting to send her back to hell…"

"W-Wishful thinking much...t-that'll never happen…"

Katy remembers the picture. How the two seemed so inseparable "Never say never…"

"I'll g-give it a go t-then…" She uncurls "B-But I don't expect much…"

"It won't happen in an instant! Rome wasn't built in a day you know?...I mean...it'll probably go along quicker if you threw in your part…"

"B-But I d-don't want to…"

"Would you rather feel like that for the rest of your life?..."

"Wouldn't hurt…"

"LAMMY!..."

"L-Look...I just...don't p-picture myself ever g-getting along with her…"

Katy winces "Would you...do it for Parappa's sake?..."

"No…or yes?... I don't k-know…" She sighs as she throws her head back "T-This is just t-to much for me… I-I feel as if this is my k-karma for even coming in contact with R-Rammy… I accidentally destroy h-her life...she p-purposefully takes away the guy I l-love...and after I had a g-great chance of actually going s-somewhere with it!..." Katy didn't have the heart to tell Lammy that the day was destined to be ruined for her "I feel l-like I'm not even gonna b-be able to be near Parappa…"

"Well...not while she's around him…unless of course...you became friends with her!..."

"Ugh…" Lammy rubs her eyes "I'll give it a shot...if it's my only chance at trying again…" She gets up "Guess I have to g-go chat w-with her to break the ice a-again…"

"T-That's the spirit!..." She gets up as well "I'll go with! I'll be emotional support! As well as the fact that I'll also have to be friends if I want to be able to be near Parappa at all."

"Ma-san made it l-look so easy…"

"Well you gotta recall that it's Ma-san."

"A f-fair point...come on…"

The duo walk off to meet up with the other three. The rest of the day goes by with mixed results. Ma-san and Parappa stay the only ones with actual connection to Rammy while Katy and Lammy fall flat. Eventually it reaches night time to which Parappa leads Rammy to the room they'll be sharing.

"Huh...quaint little place. And you have good taste in artists."

"Thanks! Although you're free to change things up as you see fit."

"I didn't really bring much...hell I don't even have a guitar anymore…"

"Oh!" Parappa removes the one from his back "You're free to take mine!"

"No can do. For a novice. You can still work wonders on it. I could never take that, my pride as a guitarist wouldn't let me."

"Eh, but I only got the thing to help you to be honest...and after what I did during our face off...I'm...kinda...upset with myself...so I don't really wanna use it for a while…"

"Tell you what. I'll borrow it till I get my own, and I'll give it back once you feel like using it again."

"Sounds fair!" his tail wags.

"You get to happy way to easily."

"Well what's there not to get happy about?"

"The fact that i'm basically intruding on your room and taking your guitar?"

"But I offered both of them to you…"

"Doesn't exactly help me feel any better over it." She groans "Anyway what about sleeping accomodations?" She stares at the bed "I think we can manage to both use it?..."

"No need!" He opens a closet and pulls out a mat "I have my accomodations all set!"

"No."

"No?"

"That shitty thing? You'll be feeling the floor right through it!"

"Yeah it is a tad worn...but it'll suffice. Don't worry about i-" Rammy plucks him by his hat, he clings on by holding onto the hat "H-Hey! What are you do-" She tosses him onto the bed.

"You are not sleeping on the floor."

"Neither are you!"

"Then I'll sleep on the couch in the main room."

"Not that either!"

"And I thought I was stubborn." She facepalms as she drags the hand off her face "You are one hell of a persistent guy."

"Well If I let you do either then I'm basically not helping and just throwing you back to the condition you were in at your old place!"

"You didn't have to bring that up…"

"Ah...sorry just…"

"I get it...ugh…fine!" She sits at the edge of the bed "You stay at your side, and if you do anything funny I'll break your arms…"

"Do I look like that kind of guy?..."

"Well you are to happy for your own good…" Rammy sighs as she lays back.

"What does that have to do with anything?..." Parappa plucks his beanie off and tosses it onto the counter next to the bed.

"Sorry...it's just a stereotype of people from the overworld that started in hell."

"Huh...well I can only assume we aren't looked upon very well…"

"No you guys aren't. Not one bit."

The duo then begin to hit the hay, Parappa sleeps soundly until he is awoken by the person next to him. He passes it off as not that big a problem until he is accidentally kicked off the bed "WAH!..." He gets back up slightly miffed, but still calm "Anything bugging you?..."

"I can't sleep…"

"I figured that'd be eventually be a problem. Um...anything you normally do?"

"One thing, but I am not doing it."

"Why not? If it helps you sleep no need to be embarrassed over it!"

"I usually sleep naked." She stares at him with the most deadpan expression to emphasize that she wasn't doing it.

"Yeah I agree don't do that…"

"Clothes suckkkkk…"

"You sure you wouldn't rather just let me sleep on the mat?"

"No. Pretty sure the cat would bite my head off if I did that. She kinda filled me in on some shit you yourself have been through."

"Oh...but it's nothing compared to your struggles."

"I guess." she motions around some more "Ugh…"

"Maybe we can talk you to sleep?"

"Eh?"

"I figured boring you to sleep would probably be easy…"

"...not a bad idea…" She adjusts herself "Why not. Give it a go."

"Um...when you brought up Kitty, AJ and Raparra...they wouldn't happen to-"

"Look like you and people you know?"

"Yeah…"

"Yep. Raparra's a spitting image of you, cept he's not a blondie. His hair is black. Kitty is basically a purple version of Katy. And dunno if you know any bears, but AJ is a toy panda."

"Sounds like a spitting image of PJ. He's a teddy bear."

"Pfft...and here I thought you couldn't get any dumber than a toy panda."

"Hey! PJ's a decent guy!...when he's not asleep or stuffing his face or taunting me…" Parappa blows out a puff of air from annoyance.

"Damn. AJ's more of a sleep deprived anorexic…"

"I'd assume since so far everyone seems like opposites…anyone for Ma-san?"

"Kitty probably knows. I don't really know anyone else. At least I don't think I know anyone else you know...I need to see to be able to tell you if I know their look a like or not…"

"Fair enough." Parappa hops back onto the bed "What's hell like? My only exposure to it was Miss Yoko inviting me to sing with her once."

"It's pretty much like here. Just darker colors here and there. But everyone is literally the same. Everyone has a doppelganger."

"Wow."

"I mean there are some extra faces...you know...skeletons...ghosts...other dead people who got sent there rather than just rest in peace up above."

"Huh… I wonder how Lammy got sent there when she accidentally died…"

"Pffft...beats me...who knows what shady stuff she may or may not have done during her time up here!"

"Lammy doesn't seem like the type to do that sort of thing…"

"Let me have some fun believin! I know she would never. Honestly she'd probably die even trying? Like i'm not even fucking kidding. If she even tried doin anything remotely assertive she'd probably die on the spot."

"Eh...that's up in the air recently. I mean she was like that in the past, but not anymore now. At least not around me."

"Is that so? That's a shocker." Steam comes from Rammy's nose "That's a bit annoying…"

"How come?"

"I figured she'd at least grow a spine during the times I kept breathing down her neck...but nope…"

"I think it's that very reason as to why she's still as anxious as she is...some people don't learn with negative reinforcements…"

"Feh…She needs thicker skin…"

"I'd say the same could apply to you."

"WHAT?!"

"I mean you were kind of in shambles yourself weren't you?"

"Tch…that doesn't count…"

"And why not?"

"Because…"

"Because?"

"...because I…"

"Was gonna kill yourself for not beating her over what was once a petty thing that you ended up making evolve into something that destroyed your entire life on its own. When all you could've done was talk to her at any given time and settle it like grown adults. Am I wrong?..."

"...no…" Parappa hears a faint sniffle.

"Look...people enter hard times. Sometimes it's hard to admit that… Would you believe me if I told you I was slowly trying to kill myself to?"

"You?"

"Yes me! I locked myself inside my old room for an entire year...only left to use the bathroom. I didn't eat, I didn't sleep...I was trying to waste away, but I never did." He sighs "I wanted to die each passing day after an accident that I blamed myself for. But the negative effects never happened...at least not on my body...just my state of mind...and that was even worse. I needed help, but didn't wanna accept any."

"Did people barge their way into your life to help?"

"Yes actually. My two original childhood friends PJ and Katy. They had enough and wanted to do all they could for me so I could…"

"Stop being a little bitch?"

"Eheh...wouldn't word it like that, but pretty much yeah. And that's when I saw that I could be helped...if I let the help happen. I was purposefully locking myself out for what? I could've had this pit in my stomach gone since day one...but I was stubborn… And once I realized all that…"

"What then?"

"The pain hit me physically...the year of not doing what I should've been caught up and...I got lucky to still be here! I really don't wanna relapse into that state of being again, but honestly...with new blue skies come dark clouds and I just worry I could end up back at square one. I'd lose myself! And I don't want that. Not just because I don't want to see myself become a shut in again, but because I don't want my friends to suffer over my own stupidity."

"Yeah well lucky you...you have friends that look out for you as such...I don't really have that luxury."

Parappa turns to her "We're friends now...aren't we?" Rammy's eyes widen "I wouldn't lie to you, and hey! The others would become your friends to if you let em." He smiles "Just note that I do have your back for whatever, whenever. I really am your friend, now until the end of time! So you're not alone when it comes to this."

Rammy huffs as she turns to her side, facing away from him "I think I just got the urge to sleep."

"Um...ok! Glad that you did! And g'night!"

"Night…" Parappa rolls away from her as he settles back into trying to sleep. He is prevented once again by Rammy's voice "Hey Parappa?"

"Mhm?"

"Thanks…"

"No problem friend!"

 _This seems like the start of something great! Things can only get better for all of us from here on out! I just know you'll fit right in Rammy!_

 _A/N_

 _Woooo. Two chapters this time instead of one! Thought I'd work on these two together since I'm running low on free time given I'll be away from a computer for about a month! But again I'll see what I can do. Till then enjoy!_


	18. Black Sheep of the Family Part 1

_Day 1 with Rammy_

The morning arove as usual. The ram wakes up to a new occurrence. The sun beaming down on her face. She groans as she rubs her eyes with one hand. She tries to use her other hand as well, but it's currently holding onto Parappa as if he were a teddy bear. Once she notices, she quickly shoves him off the bed, waking him up.

"GOH…" He gets back up "Morning!"

"Did you know I did that?!"

"Of course, it woke me up in the middle of the night."

"And you didn't bother to get me to stop?!"

Parappa chuckles cheekily as he puts his arm behind his head "Well you seemed like you were missing a teddy bear. Couldn't really stop that since it did help you sleep better." He shrugs "Plus you can't blame me for that since I didn't do it." She conks him on the head "GWAH…" he drops to the ground clutching his head.

"Doesn't mean I can't get mad at you!"

"Point taken…" He puts his hat back on "But seriously. You just abruptly grabbed me as if you were having a nightmare! I just couldn't wake you up after that! Especially given how hard it was to even GET you to sleep…"

"Blegh...fine...you tell anyone I did that and you're dead ya hear me?"

"As if I could! I know when to keep things that are obviously meant to be hidden...well...hidden!"

She crosses her arms "Fine, but I would rather you not know about that at all…" She sighs "I did...have a teddy bear...helps me sleep and is just...calming you know?"

"Well that's nothing to be ashamed of! Hell Lammy used to have one as well! If it weren't for the fact that she lost it, she'd probably still have it even now."

"Yeah but for a girl like her? It's obvious and easy to pass off! Me? I'd be ridiculed more so than I am now…"

"Aw don't think like that! People up here are a lot nice than people in hell!"

"While I don't necessarily doubt that, you still see how I currently look like right?"

"Ok you make a good enough point…"

"Exactly!" She hops off the bed, to which Parappa covers his face "The hell's up with you now?"

"Y-Your shirt got lift up…"

"Huh? Oh how about that. And?"

"And?! Where'd your modesty from last night?!"

"I didn't wanna end up sleeping naked. This is literally nothing. The top half I'm cool with cuz whatever. It's mostly the bottom half that's a big no unless it's someone i'm real comfortable and close with with like my girl-...ex...girlfriend..."

"Well speak for yourself! I'm not used to seeing that!"

"You live with three other girls. I extremely doubt you go through a day WITHOUT catching them nude or near nude."

"I refuse to answer that."

"Pffft...Lemme guess. Katy or Lammy?"

"Both…"

Rammy bursts into laughter without hesitation "And you worry over me?! Thahahahat's ridiculous!"

"Just...fix your shirt please…"

"Maybe later, right now mind telling me where the bathroom is?"

"Down the hallway that direction to your right…"

"Much obliged." She snaps her finger into a finger gun as she leaves the room and heads for the bathroom.

"Oh dear...when I wanted to adjust that way with the girls...I never anticipated ever having to extend that offer to a girl who could care less about being caught topless...this will certainly keep things lively around here with a personality like hers that's for sure…And why didn't she have a bra?! How was her life in hell compared to here?!"

The morning comes and goes as per usual, the only difference being the normally talkative Katy and Lammy are replaced by a now more talkative Ma-san and Rammy as the former duo become silent. After they eat they all head off to their respective jobs, minus Rammy who is left to do as she pleases..

"Here's a spare key in case you decided to go and explore the town or whatever...and please don't destroy anything…" Katy says as she places a set of keys in her hands.

"Sheesh I didn't peg you as the kind to be overly responsible."

"I am plenty responsible when need be. Now i'm off. Come on Lammy."

"Right behind you…"

"You two work together?"

"Yep, and I'm not telling you where."

"Does Ma-san work with you two?"

"Nope, she's with her father at the town pharmacy."

"Phew. Alright."

Katy's eye twitched upon hearing her response "Why the sudden relief?"

"In case I got bored and wanted to go chat with someone."

"Of course…" _While she couldn't have possibly made that sound more offensive if she tried...at least it gets her off Lammy's back for the time being…_ "You could just head off with her now you know."

"I'll think it over. Don't wanna bug her, she told me how much of a pain her pops can be from time to time."

 _Oh sure, you respect her easily and instantaneously…_ "Whatever you wish. Anymore questions? I really gotta go."

"None. Have fun ya uptight mess."

Katy ejects smoke from her nose and ears "Yeah ok…" _I honestly hope it doesn't take to long for her to become nice to me and Lammy...crap I didn't ask Leo how long it'd actually be...oh joy…_ Katy runs off to her van with Lammy and drives off without hesitation as to escape the other ewe faster.

Rammy watches from the living room window to see said van haul it through the streets "Temper temper...sheesh." She rolls her eyes and continues watching. She sees Ma-san and Parappa walk down the street, but then head in opposite directions once the street split "Hm…"

At Chop Chop Fruits Cafe, Parappa arrives to be greeted by PJ and Matt.

"Ey man. How was your day yesterday?" Matt says as he leans back on a chair.

"Eventful is all I can say, and even that's an understatement!"

"Do tell." PJ adds on as he rests on the counter.

"Well what's there to say? Just that I saw a lot of interesting things. Learned a bit more bout my dad's past...and uh...made a new friend."

"Oh?" Matt makes the chair lean forward "New friend you say?"

"Well yeah! And it's a...bit of a long story...it all kinda started with me needing to help someone...which is why you saw me with that guitar!" as Parappa figures out how to word the rest, Matt and PJ are caught off guard by a new figure behind him.

"Uh...is the new friend a female by chance?..." Matt says.

"All black and gray in color?..." PJ adds on.

"Looks like she could pose for a heavy metal band member?..." They say together.

"Uh...those are remarkably suspicious and accurate guesses...yes actually...how'd you know?" They both point behind him prompting him to turn around "RAMMY!"

"Sup"

"H-How'd you find out where I worked?"

"Followed you."

"Ah…"

Matt leans towards PJ " _That's totally not creepy…"_

PJ leans back " _What if I told you I kinda anticipated having a new…'friend' added to our circle...and that this isn't even the tip of the iceberg as to what you should expect from her."_

" _I'm slightly terrified...she seems scary."_

" _I can hear the two of you loud and clear ya know."_ Both PJ and Matt panic and scoot away from her as she intrude on what was supposed to be between them "You know if you're gonna talk about me, at least have the balls to say it in my face…"

"U-Uh...don't be serious! We...were just messin with ya!..." Matt tries to avoid making eye contact "H-How could we be rude to a new pal of Parappa!..."

Rammy walks up to him and grabs his head, motining it to force eye contact. The color drains from Matt as he sinks to the ground, cowering on the floor "Pfft...wimp...any sign of conflict and his fragile masculinity hits the road…."

"Ehehe...Rammy that's just cuz Matt is usually the kind of guy to mediate things from getting rather...bad." Parappa rushes off to try to snap Matt out of it.

"Him? If he melts that easily then that's wishful thinking to the max! Little shit can't handle any from of a struggle!"

"Hey hey hey! No need to bad mouth my friends about anything they can or can't do!"

"And why not if it's true? If anything it's constructive criticism." Rammy plucks Parappa away from Matt "And it should help him mature out of that. World ain't all sweets galore especially with you babying him."

"He can manage enough already! It just takes a bit to get that side of him to awake that in him. He doesn't need a gal like you makin it harder on him than it already is!"

"And what are you gonna do to stop me?" She continuously pokes Matt in the face, angering PJ who charges at her, but before he makes contact, she grabs him and suplexes him onto the ground. He is out cold as a snot bubble begins to expand and recede.

"R-RAMMY!..."

"What? They started it…"

"B-But you didn't have to piledrive him into the ground!"

"I didn't piledrive him. I suplexed him. Big difference."

"Why do that at all?!"

"They pissed me off...they were clearly talking shit about me...and when I talk back they get all weak in the knees because they expect I can't fight back at bullshit?"

"Ah…" Parappa freezes up...she wasn't wrong. They did in fact deserve it. Especially for assuming that Rammy wouldn't do anything in retaliation.

Matt manages to finally speak up again "P-Parappa y-you can't s-seriously b-believe her…!"

"She...kinda does have a point...you two did offend her...and got all defensive when she doesn't take it…"

"B-But I mean c-come on!...s-she's the walking definition of terrifyin-" Rammy stomps her foot in front of him, just barely missing his crotch, as she breaks a hole in the solid concrete floor "WAHAHAHA I'M SOOOOORRYYYYYYYY!..." He curls up in fetal position as he sucks his thumb.

"I have arrived again with our stock for today- What goes on in here?" Chop Chop says as he sees the two downed boys then looks at Rammy. Fire burns in her eyes "I see. I'll return later." He books it.

"H-HEY TAMANEGI SEN-...he's gone…" Parappa stares the the unconscious PJ and immobile Matt "Oh man...I'm alone now and I have to deal with the oncoming lunch rush…"

"Relax, if those three are incapable of helping you run this place. I'll manage their place!"

"R-Rammy no offense but that's not exactly a good idea…"

"Why not? What exactly do you do here?"

"Well Tamanegi who you scared away and PJ who you knocked out cold were on chef duty, while me and Matt...who you probably gave nightmares to for about a week...were on table to table duty…"

"Hm…" she snaps her fingers "I'll handle the mooks out here. You go and handle kitchen duty."

"Uh...Are you sure you'll be able to handle the entirety of the people out here?..."

"Pfft. Can I manage?...I'm a natural with people!"

The day goes by as it usually does once PJ and Matt are dragged behind the counter. Parappa manages kitchen duty easily, but Rammy is not so...fortunate… The customers begin complaining over lack of service, lack of decency and any other reason they can think up. They all begin complaining in a group.

Matt slinks up to Parappa after calming down by a marginal amount "Parappa! You have to stop this man…"

"Stop it how?!"

"Maybe make her see that she can't handle that group of rowdy people. And apologize to us while she's at it…"

"I have faith she can manage!...and that's a no to the apology...you guys are still in the wrong."

"SHE POWERBOMBED PJ!"

"He's well cushioned thanks to his body so he'll be fine. Granted a bit sore...but fine nevertheless."

"Why are you so ok with this?!..."

"Because she's someone I gotta help!..." _That and I'm afraid she'll do that to you if I don't stop your complaints...and you're not a teddy bear with a soft body…_ "I know that this is just a rough patch she's going through...she'll get over it and you'll be friends with her before you know it!"

"FRIENDS WITH THAT WALKING NIGHTMARE?! HELL NO!"

"Oh come on…" Matt forces his body to get up and drags Parappa to look over the counter.

"SEE?! SHE CAN'T HANDLE IT! AND BY EXTENSION, BEING FRIENDS WITH US."

The duo stare at Rammy who's suffering the brunt of the yelling from the piling customers until…

" **ENOUGH!"** Lammy forces her arm through the table of the male customer with the head of a spoon, who started the entire mess. His first reaction is to stare at her, wide eyed and jaw dropped. His second reaction is to release a light squeal of fear "Now you're pretty much a whiny little shit now ain't ya? Piling on a group over me? Now that I don't mind. Then it occurred to me this is the kind of shit you put my new friend over there-" She points with her thumb over her shoulder towards Parappa without even looking "Through, and that...really irks me…" She cracks her knuckles of the fist that annihilated the table by just stretching her fingers back "You are probably one of the worst types of customer...I'm sure you get away with a lot of shit by convincing a lot of random joe's and jane's to start yelling with you by makin them also think they're 'suffering' like you."

"I-I don't-"

"Don't what?...do that?...then what do you explain what just happened now?"

"B-But you were-"

"Understaffed? Yeah we are. And your first instinct is to berate everyone cuz you thought yourself the superior special snowflake?"

"N-No not at-"

"And now you're trying to defend yourself? That's a new low there guy...and I frankly won't sit idly by as you do that…" She leans in to him "Now you're gonna tell me...do you put them through all this?"

"I-I like t-to think I d-don-"

"Are you saying that because it's the truth? Or because you don't want me to be elbow deep where the sun don't shine?"

"A-Ah…"

"Truth. Now."

"I-Is there anything I c-can do as an apology?..."

"I ain't answering that." She holds her fist in front of his face "Plus...you just admitted to being an asshole of a customer...now that right there pisses me off…"

"I-I'LL APOLOGIZE!...I-I'LL EVEN START TIPPING!...HELL I'LL MULTIPLY THE TIP BY TEN!...A-AND I'LL ORDER EXTRA E-EVEN IF NOT HUNGRY!...M-MORE MONEY FOR THE H-HARD WORKERS R-RIGHT?...h-hehehe…" The poor man struggles to think of another way to apologize to prevent himself from suffering pain.

"Just for today?"

"N-NO E-EVERYDAY!..."

"Good boy." she backs away from him then turns towards the rest of the customers with her free arm on her hip and the other arm still a fist, but now pointed towards them "And how about the rest of you?"

"W-WHAT HE SAID!..." They all drop to all fours in a japanese style apology pose.

"That's what I thought. Now you pathetic lot are gonna wait to be served. Only one guy is on kitchen duty right now. Am. I. Clear?" They all nod at such a velocity, it's a miracle their necks didn't break.

Matt, as well as PJ who awoke just as all that was going on simply stare with their eyes bulging out of their head and their jaws literally dropped to the floor. Their attentions turn towards Parappa after they hear him pompously clear his throat. When they look at him, he gives them the smuggest 'I told you so' look.

The day carries out surprisingly calm, and when it comes to close the place up for the day, the customers all leave in an orderly line as they gossip amongst one another. Paula sporting her shades from her first time visiting club fun, watches the surprisingly organized line as she listens to their petty gossip.

" _That was terrifying...I didn't realize that Parappa got a bouncer as a friend…"_

" _Bouncer? She was more like a prison warden!"_

" _Or one of those money collectors they send after you when you have a large debt...She looked like she was ready to strip me of my kneecaps…!"_

" _No kidding…"_ the chat goes on like this as people compare the mystery girl to various brute muscle jobs.

Paula decides to ask what's up, her hood and glasses prevent her from being found out "Hey what are you all talking about?..."

"Parappa's new girlfriend...she's like a walking nightmare!...Step out of line and she'll snap you like a twig!"

"New Gir-...uh...thanks for the info." Paula carries on her route towards the inside of the cafe before being called out by the line.

"DON'T GO IN THERE! IT'S A DEATHWISH!" Paula shrugs as she chooses to ignore them and head on in. As the door opens, the jingle is heard, prompting a voice to be heard.

"HEY, WHAT PART OF CLOSED DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND!" The yell startles Paula who stumbles and replies quickly.

"I'm just here to visit my friends!..." her only reply is an annoyed 'Tch'

As Paula walks up she hears Parappa talk to both PJ and Matt.

"Ok you two, I think you have something to say to Rammy!"

"Yeah…"

"You're right…"

They both clear their throats and together in unison say "We're still waiting for you to say you're sorry."

" _ **CHOP!"**_ Parappa chops PJ in his right leg and Matt in his left leg causing them both to drop instantly.

"OW…"

"WHY…"

"That is NOT what I meant…" Parappa angrily crosses his arms.

"Ugh...fine...I'm sorry for getting mad at you for berating my friend…"

"And I'm sorry for calling you scary when you clearly are…"

" _ **PUNCH!"**_ Parappa punches their arms, clearly angry at their wrong choice again.

"FINE...I'm sorry...yes you were right...Matt could use a better morale booster and getting a better spine…he can be a wimp at times..."

"And I'm sorry to...You're not scary...just properly assertive...you were in your right to suplex PJ who can be an ass at times…" Both Matt and PJ look angrily at each other.

"Well I guess I'll accept a half assed apology. " She squats down to them "Honestly...you two are pretty aight. Could be a bit better here and there, but eh. What can you do? Everyone has flaws."

"Thanks…" _This girl...becomes a sweetheart...Leo what the absolute hell...how long till then?!..._ PJ gets back up "I never had the 'honor' of introducing myself proper. I'm PJ."

"And I'm Matt."

"So I take it all your friends are gonna be this diverse man?"

"I'd like to think of myself as diverse, but hopefully in the good kind." Paula says catching all their attention as she walks up "Names Paula, and who might you be?"

"Rammy. And what's with that get up?"

"Eh, don't wanna show people my bandaged head. And the glasses are to protect my eye at the moment."

"The hell happened to you?"

"Nearly cracked my head open. Nothin much."

"Shiiiiiiit. You certainly have more in you then these two if you can casually walk that off. Nice." Both Matt and PJ stare at Paula in amazement at how she gained Rammy's respect far easier than they could. She only shrugs once she notices them.

"So Rammy, what brings you here?"

"Decided to tag along with Parappa to see what he does for a living. Tweedle dee and Tweedle dumbass over here got up in my face. Suplexed one and made the other piss himself. Had to fill in for the two of them. Got a disrespectful group of ingrates to be more respectful of the staff. And now I'm here talking to you."

Paula barely holds back a laugh after hearing PJ and Matt's new nicknames as well as what happened to them. This prompts an angry joint reply from the two of them "DON'T LAUGH!"

"K-Kihihinda...hard not to... " She calms down "Since PJ doesn't really wear pants, I can assume he was the one body slammed into the ground."

"You'd be correct…" PJ scoffs.

"And Matt...oh boy I can't even say I didn't instantly guess that's what happened to you because then I'd be lying."

"Thanks for the friendly input…" Matt rolls his eyes as he leans against the wall.

"Well, that's quite the thing to hear. You working with us?"

"Naw. Just a one time thing. But you work here? With them?"

"It used to be just Parappa and PJ. Matt joined when I had to take a few days break thanks to this." She points to her eyes "But I'll be back working here tomorrow."

"If that's the case then I have another reason to just stop by and visit." she smirks to which Paula replies with her own devious smile.

"I'm cool with that." She raises her fist, Rammy meets it with her own as they fist bump before chuckling.

"Parappa stares at PJ and Matt "See why can't you two be like that?"

"I'm sorry, but I ain't warming up to THAT anytime soon…"

"I'm with PJ...I don't think we'll be friends that easily…" Both their replies just earn a sad whine from Parappa.

As the group part ways, both Rammy and Parappa walk back to the house in tow as they decide to chatter along the way.

"Hey. I gotta come clean on something."

"Hm?"

"I did not have any faith in myself at all with the people...I'm not really a natural."

Despite this being obvious, Parappa replied as if he didn't know "Whaaaat? You kidding? You see how you handled them?"

"Yeah but...to tell you the truth...I...was literally about to just huddle on the floor myself…"

"O-Oh…" Now Parappa was legitimately caught off guard.

"Heh...the pressure reminded me of how it was in hell and I was so close to just breaking down in front of everyone…"

"How did you manage then?..."

"This is gonna sound so fucking corny…" She sighs "The fact that you were just...in the immediate area." She places her hands inside her pockets "I just felt...I dunno...something… What felt like I was on the verge of shattering suddenly stabilized and the next thing I knew. I was about to send them on a one way trip to hell if they didn't calm their shit." She laughs as she looks up to the sky "What you told me last night rang in my head the entire time...you had my back...and hey...during that entire thing. You really did have my back. At any given moment you'd go out and help me if things were to go south."

"Well you're not wrong. Had things gone differently I would've stepped in to help like that to as you said! And I'm glad my words got through to you!" He snaps "Well...I got paid a little more than usual...thanks to you obviously! Want some ice cream? Or anything else? To munch on during the walk back?"

"Can we get hot dogs?"

"Sure! I know a great place thanks to PJ!" He motions for Rammy to follow as they run off.

 _Day 5 with Rammy_

"Rammy. Wake up, I gotta get ready for work."

"Five more minutes…"

"You said that the past two houuuuurs…"

"It has not been two hours…" She motions with her free hand for her cellphone, upon getting it she checks for the time to see that he's right "Ho shit...my bad." She lets him go "Guess I'm getting to used to using you as my teddy bear!"

"As well as more and more ok with leaving more of your shirt off."

"Huh. Guess so. Soon the pants might even be dropping!"

"I'd rather that not happen."

"Dunno. Again I said that's a matter of my comfort with my surroundings. That's currently you and what can I say? You've grown on me."

"That's both flattering and slightly concerning!"

"Whatevs. You should be- Hey wait...two hours you said right?"

"Yeah?..."

"Did you eat anything?"

"Nope...I'm sure my breakfast should be on the table...but I'll have to hurry and drive off from how pressed for time I am or eat it on the drive there."

"Sorry man. You get ready, I'll see if I can heat it up."

"Thanks! Gonna drop by again?"

"Need you even ask?"

"Got me there!" he places his hat on backwards "Just tag along with me in the car then."

"Gotcha, and also-" She grabs his hat and fixes it up "That's better."

"Whoops! Thanks!"

She smiles "No prob!"

One quick prep up later. Parappa finishes eating along with Rammy and the two then head off towards the car.

"Buckled in?"

"Yes mom."

"Hey, can't help it. Was taught by my driving instructor!" He drives off.

"Aight." Rammy leans out the open window "So the other three left?"

"A while ago. But Ma-san passes her hello. The other two...they left without a word."

"Eh...figures." She sighs sadly "But I guess it's to be expected…"

"What do you wanna be their friend after all?"

'Eh...I dunno...probably not that...but couldn't hurt to have them at least on talking levels with me…"

"I understand…Things will pick up! I'm sure of it!"

The duo arrive at the cafe as Parappa rushes in to avoid clocking in late.

"Parappa! Where you been man?!" Matt asks as he rushes in.

"Eheh...I guess I just overslept is all…"

"While that is good for you given how you've been. How did you manage that?" PJ says as he eyes him warringly.

"Uh...who knows!"

"You're clearly hiding something!" Paula pokes at him to get him to answer.

"I'm hiding nohohohohothing!"

"Trust the guy, it's not like he'd lie to you three." Rammy says as she joins in on the group.

"Oh hey you're back. For the fifth day in the row..."

"Miss me?~"

"Yeah, but don't worry. My aim is getting better!"

"Pffft. What a joke." She pokes him on the nose "Admit it, I'm growing on you as much as you're growing on me you giant coping toy!"

"I'd hate to admit it...but yeah...you're growing on me...like a parasitic fungus! But growing on me nevertheless." He pokes her on the nose. Both eye each other aggressively before locking hands onto a table.

"Oh no not again...Guys we open in seven can't it wait till after we're done?..." Paula says as she watches the two arm wrestle.

"Relax P. This'll only take a minute!"

"Is that so Dingleberri?~"

"Can it! Our record so far is tied two to two...and I'm making it two to three!"

"Sadly that three belongs to me!" The two go at it as they now ignore any more feedback from the three around them.

"I just don't get it…" Matt says, scratching his neck.

"Get what Matt?"

"You and Paula and now even PJ got used to her like BAM...no problem...yet with me she can't even give me the time of day to even try…"

"Well it's not like you've even made an effort to reach out to her...PJ inadvertently did when Paula got them to get back at each other with this revenge competition…"

"But WE have nothing to build a friendship off of!..."

"Don't know less you try." Parappa walks towards the kitchen after Paula "Come on, they'll be at it for a while. We still gotta work."

"Yeah...I know…" Matt follows.

The remainder of the day goes by with it's new routine ever since Rammy arrived. Once the competition between Rammy and PJ started, the customers decided to take part in who would be victorious for the day.

"RIP THE BEARS ARM OFF!" One group was shouting

"SMASH THAT RAM THROUGH THE FLOOR!" Another group retorted with.

"God DAMN are these guys more bloodthirsty than ever…" Parappa says as he watches the mess go on while handing out orders.

"Can you blame em? Rammy's brashness got to them. Not like it's a bad thing since they still follow the 'rules' that Rammy laid out for them since the first day she arrived so at least they know the pecking order." Paula says as she collects finished trays and plates.

"I'm more amazed by how calm you two are by this…" Matt says watching from behind the counter.

"My new pupil. Life goes on in strange ways. Sometimes the biggest surprises come from places you would never expect." Chop Chop says as he materializes out of nowhere behind Matt.

"WAHHH! T-Tamanegi sensei don't do that!..." Both Parappa and Paula laugh along with Chop Chop.

The struggle between the two carries on until both their arms give way and they slam down in the center of the table, ending it in a draw. Both of them reel the arms back to stretch and relax them as they simply looked at the other.

"Not bad di-...PJ. Gotta say, you're starting to get the better of me."

"Wow. Didn't think it'd be possible for you to say that legitimately with actual feeling behind it." They both give a cocky grin "But thanks regardless. I gotta say you've really been keeping me to my paces. Trying to get the better of you has certainly motivated me into getting healthier SO that I can best you. Never thought I'd see this side of me."

"Heh. I've noticed. Pretty soon you'll probably suplex ME into the ground!"

"As much as I would love to do that. I don't think i'd want to." He stops stretching his exhausted arm as he crosses both and leans on the table "Like I said. You've grown on me as well. Just not like a parasite and more like an actual bud." They lock hands again, but this time simply shake as they nod with vigor "Agree with me?"

"Hell yeah I do! You really are an aight guy."

"Likewise. Glad I got to see that for myself." Rather than end the handshake like in regular fashion, they instead ram their heads together into a haphazard headbutt.

"H-Hahaaaaa...got a thicker skull this time didn't yaaaaa…"

"I'd saaaaay…" both fall over backwards, but quickly get back up signifying they were ok.

The day comes to a close and they all leave work as per usual. Only PJ and Paula tag along with Parappa and Rammy this time instead of splitting ways. Only Matt is the one to part off.

"So how are things going for you up here Rammy? You seem to be adjusting pretty well." PJ tilts his head in patience of her answer.

"It's all good really. Not that different from hell cept everyone here is probably squishier and that damn burning thing in the sky is a real nuisance while trying to sleep…"

"You mean the sun?..." Paula adds on as she glances towards the descending sun "Well...it would make sense that a person below the ground would find that annoying…but what do you lot normally do for light?"

"Fire."

"Oh…"

"Lava."

"I see-"

"Glowing souls of the damned-"

"OK! I got it after the first alternative." Paula shakes her head "How do you live with that?"

"How do you live with THAT?" She points back towards the sun.

"...uh...touche…"

"Now that aside. It's all good. Cept of course where I'm stayin…"

PJ scratches his head before chiming in "Yeah...that does seem like it might be a tad...cumbersome...what happened?"

"Gah...it's the cat and Lammy…"

"Huh…" _I'm not surprised about Lammy. I was informed beforehand, but Katy is a shocker...she seemed...marginally fine after Europa told her about it...what could've happened?_ "Hmmm" PJ removes his sunglasses "Did you by any chance...do something to upset Katy? Because with Lammy...it's a rather no brainer she'd probably not wanna...interact with you...but what'd you do to Katy?"

"NOTHING! I literally arrived and kept to myself! She said it was ok to stay with them all...course...when Parappa brought up my sleeping arrangements...that's when her tone took a nosedive…"

Both Paula and PJ become curious and in union ask "What does that mean?"

"Well Parappa offered that I-"

"U-Uh...we better hurry back! It's gettin rather late!" Parappa tries to run off, only to get caught by both the bear and the fox as the grab on tight to the back of his shirt, preventing his escape.

"Parappa…"

"What did you do man…"

"I...simply did what any helpful friend would do in that situation!.." The look to Rammy.

"He offered his room. Bed and all. I wasn't ok with that. He wasn't ok with my alternative. Now we sleep in the same bed." Rammy shrugs nonchalantly while PJ and Paula simply stare at Parappa.

After a while with the proper context and explanation, the duo still don't give either Parappa or Rammy an easier time. The ease up when Rammy speaks up again.

"Relaaaaax. It's not like he does anything. He's not that kinda guy. And even if he was, he'd know better than to try it with me!" she grins as she cracks her knuckles causing Parappa to flinch "Course I know he can't and I do enjoy teasing him from it! He's to much of a soft boy to do anything!"

"I am NOT a soft boy! I can be assertive when need be!"

"Then how come you freak out everytime you catch me with my shirt-"

"HEYHEYHEY! Don't need to unveil that publically!" His reaction just gets Rammy laughing hysterically.

"Point prohohohoven!" after her laughing fit, PJ and Paula simply force context out of Parappa out again. Of course once the context is given, it doesn't exactly help the situation Parappa finds himself in.

Meanwhile with Lammy and Katy…

"I didn't t-think I'd ever g-get to a point where I'd r-rather be with Niles than at my own h-home…" Lammy sighs as she slumps over.

"Come on Lammy...I know you don't mean that...is our boss really better than Rammy?..."

"Yes…"

"Really...oh my god..." _I'm sorry Leo...but I REALLY doubt your words…neither Lammy OR me are able to warm up to her at all…_ "I guess it's understandable...but not only did Ma-san managed to become friends with her, but so did Paula…" her tail twists about "Hell I think even PJ is starting to get along with her from what I heard?...So it wouldn't hurt to try and get to be on at least speaking terms with her…"

"Speak for yourself...I'm sorry but I just c-can't manage that in the s-slightest…" She stands back upright "Katy...that girl is a nightmare...E-Every time I play against h-her I barely win by the skin of m-my teeth!...I never w-wanted to lose given what it'd cost me because I wasn't aware of what'd happen to me if I d-did! Now granted my f-fear may have been irrational...usually i-is… because I'm sure R-Rammy can't do anything s-supernatural...cept always seem to t-turn up everywhere...but the f-fear was still valid nonetheless… I can't just g-get along with her...I'm t-the pocket definition of a-an anxious m-mess of a person...and she's the textbook definition of a person r-riddled with anxiety's worst n-nightmare! AND SHE'S LIVING IN THE SAME HOUSE AS ME! IN THE SAME ROOM AS THE GUY I LOVE!..."

Lammy's words stung, mostly because, Katy loved the guy to. Hearing Lammy bring up that part often whenever asked about how she was doing the past few days really started to wear thin on Katy's heart and tolerance, but Katy usually held back...until now "I...like him to you know…"

"Huh?... I d-didn't quite catch that...you s-spoke to low…"

"I said I like him to you know…"

"O-Oh. Of course y-you like him you've been friends with him s-since what seems like f-forever! But you don't get i-it! I l-love the guy and I f-feel as if that shadow of m-mine is out to t-take hi-"

"I LOVE him to you know…" Katy couldn't get anymore blunt than that. It hurt that she even had to get blunt towards her to begin with.

"C-Come again…?"

She sighs as she walks on ahead "Let's find a bench first before I explain myself...tired of just standing around…" Lammy quietly follows. Once the duo find a bench, Katy begins explaining herself "Alright...now before I say this...I wanna say that in no sense of the word does this mean I'm trying to take him from you as well…Hell if anything I probably wanted you to end up with him more than me..."

"B-But why...i-if you had feelings for the guy...w-why not act out on them y-yourself…?"

"Because it was harder for me…" She leans her head back over the bench "I...first gained what at first was a crush on him...when we were like nine? Eight? Probably even seven… Point is, since waaaay back."

"T-That long?!..."

"Mhm...and you know...young kids usually never think up much and always assume...it'll go away. Because the whole child mind of 'ew that's grossssss' and whatnot. But nope not me...the little crush grew to full on infatuation and...before I knew it...I was already heartbroken and rejected."

"H-He turned you down?..."

"Not exactly...he did turn me down in a passive sense of the word...see...I'm sure you recall me telling you wayback...that we were super close...like family close."

"Oh yeah?...O-Oh...I...think I caught o-on…"

"Yep...so...hard to go for being a girlfriend when you're treated like a sister...heh…"

"Yeah that...would t-throw a wrench in t-things wouldn't it…" _Also explains Pinto's emotions a LOT more now…_

"You have no idea...but I digress...with those emotions buried away...I thought I could just...pass it off...he was still my friend...and that was fine enough for me! Since I cared so much for him, I would obviously want what was best for him in the end! At least that's what I made myself believe...cue age fourteen...Parappa meets…"

"Sunny…"

"Bingo…" she sits back upright "Now...I see Parappa immediately move as if cupid shot his arrow almost instantly...I was shocked...it was cute!...And I wanted to help...but...on that very same day...PJ caught on that I-"

"P-PJ knew as well?..."

"L-Let me finish before you get upset with me...anywho...yeah PJ did know...and well...he wasn't exactly happy with my choice of how to handle it...so he told me that if I wanted to fully lock those emotions away and go with my plan of helping Parappa hit it off with Sunny...I should get a hobby." She turns to Lammy "I tried many things. Some stuck, some didn't. For example I found my love of poetry that way. And eventually that led me to learning to want to play base...I could write lyrics...so why not learn to PLAY music with em?...Cue..."

"Me and Ma-san…"

"Correct again...now I was happy that I could quickly make friends! Hell I was even happier that we even made a BAND!...that was the best day of my life! And I even thought I finally got over it all!...The only thing that made me slightly unsure was the fact that Parappa was in the same room in one of the practice rooms...but after me you and Ma-san rocked the house...I felt...at peace ya know?"

"This h-happy ending is short lived i-isn't it…"

"Yep...cuz...you fell in love with him….you had the same reaction to him as he had to Sunny...And...you were now my new friend...even closer than Sunny...and so I wanted to help YOU… I stopped trying to help Sunny and Parappa, but to my dismay...Parappa hit it off with her all on his own…" She groans in heavy sadness "I felt as if I let you down...but at the same time...I also felt jealous...and slightly betrayed...course I didn't pay much attention to that as I just went off and did my thing of helping you!"

"I-I noticed...you s-started to do a whole lot more t-to try and get us together...even though he was already with s-someone…"

"I thought I could make something out of nothing...cue our first live concert…something was so close to happening from nothing! That shaken soda can was really well timed! And I didn't even have anything to do with it! I dunno who it was-"

"That's...t-thanks to Rammy...b-believe it or not…"

"...well...suddenly my thanks towards her evaporated...anywho...yeah! B-But...then I got jealous again...what could've been a fun situation to push you to together...i kinda stopped at every possible turn...and Ma-san caught on-"

"D-Did everyone know b-but me?!..."

"Eheh...it's not like I wanted them to know...e-everyone kinda figured it out by catching me slip up once...PJ got me to admit it flat out when he wasn't sure if I was in love with him or not. Ma-san caught my tail curling into a heart whenever he did something nice to me… Matt caught on after he bumped into me during a class swap and our books got mixed up...he took my notebook and I got his...and he saw what was supposed to be seen by my eyes only… Paula caught on to me when I caught onto her in the same thing-"

"P-Paula also loves him?!...What's n-next...gonna t-tell me Ma-san does to…" Katy stays silent "Y-You've got to be kidding m-me…" She huddles up onto the bench.

"C-Carrying on...Ma-san caught on...so I told her to stop me in case I ever got out of line and prevented you again...and it worked!...through painful motivation I managed to help you out!...but…"

"Parappa was t-to faithful to the girl of his d-dreams…"

"Yep...they were together for four years until…"

"The accident that n-nearly took him a-away from all of us…"

"Mhm...At that point I didn't really care for love...I just wanted him alive…"

"W-We all did...but I know what you m-mean...I felt the same…"

"Yeah…" _Should I tell her about the kiss?...no...not yet…"_ Well...flashforward a bit...remember our first time heading towards Club Rainbow?"

"Y-Yeah...the accidental call Parappa g-gave us…"

"That's when...what I first thought wasn't fair was now...an even shot?...and at the same time...I'm just at a loss...because I want YOU to have a better shot!"

"But w-why?...you've clearly loved the g-guy longer...hell I feel like a m-massive jerk f-for requiring your help preventing you from getting any chance…"

"Lammy Lammy Lammy! I chose to help you through my own wishes. The point of this story was that I ALSO feel annoyed and aggravated at our intruding new guest...I feel as pressured down as you do, but I at least wanna try and get on good terms with her."

"I don't get w-why…"

"I just have a slight feeling that...if we give her a shot...we'll be pleasantly surprised."

"I'm already surprised e-enough as is to see that ALL m-my friends love the same guy as me...g-god I feel as dense as P-Parappa…"

"Trust me Lammy, NO ONE can be as dense as Parappa." They both share a laugh "Come on. Let's see if we can try to get friendlier with her…"

"Ok…" Katy wraps her arm around her shoulder as they both head off home.

 _Day 16 with Rammy_

"This is something I just have to get used to isn't it?"

"Hey, not my fault you're outrageously fluffy. Your hair is like a second layer of fur! Seriously what shampoo or conditioner do you use? This fluffiness is seriously unnatural."

"Just a...regular old run of the mill one?...I don't know if it's just my natural genes...or the fact that hell is just probably rough all around...but that can't be! You're soft to."

"Eh it's probably the soap I used when showering here.'

"No when I hugged you the day of the expo, you were fluffy then to!"

"Please don't bring that uuuuuup."

"Whyyyyyy."

"I don't enjoy being pictured as soft. That's all."

"But you are and that's ok! You're soft in the literal sense and figurative fluffy sense!" He hugs her while in her grasp.

"Stooooop." She shoves him off the bed again, but Parappa manages to save himself with a handstand as he flips back onto his feet.

"Here we go! Not this time!"

"Wow. Only took you sixteen days to finally get used to that." She rolls her eyes playfully as she hops off the bed to stretch.

"What with the stretching?"

"Gotta keep my muscles limber. You know I never thought I'd be busting stuff up here MORE than I used to down in hell."

"I dunno if that's a good thing...but I mean at least you're keeping your body in check while you physically break things..." He shakes his head "Now if only I could do something about your smoking habit."

"Hey. It calms me!" She then stops stretching "Course...you do as well now a days...more effectively to...so I dunno really."

"I'll get through to you on that eventually!"

"Speaking about eventually. You finally got used to me without my shirt on! You didn't fidget at all once upon waking up."

"That's out of my control. You're not giving a shit attitude towards it has worn me down." He huffs "I guess it's for the better! Now you can no longer tease me over it!..." Parappa turns his head away once she resumes stretching "Wish...I could say the same about your dropping pants…"

"Pfft. Well they're not completely off! And blame yourself! You're like the definition of a comfort zone!"

"They don't need to be to still be revealing! I can see your butt clear as day!"

"Wanna see more?" She sticks her tongue out at him.

"I'm not amused."

"I am!" Her tail shakes about as she teasingly tugs at her pants.

"I'm out!" Parappa walks towards the door.

"Hahaha! Relax man! I won't."

"Now at least. But eventually those will come off as well!"

"Aw relax. You'll get used to it like the rest of me!"

"I know I will and that's what upsets me." He chuckles "But I got myself into this by offering to help ya. And you know what? I don't regret it. You've certainly spiced up my day to day life more than I thought possible! And you've gotten along supremely well with PJ, Paula and Ma-san!...Wish Katy, Matt and Lammy were the same…"

Rammy gets herself dressed up before replying "I mean...at least Katy and Lammy are even SPEAKING to me now…only wish it was a tad nicer...but I mean it's to be expected given who I am."

"At least you're giving them a shot! Takes a big person to let the heavy past go to just start up fresh."

"I've got you to thank for that. You've rubbed off on me as much as i've done so to you!"

"Which I am all to thankful for! Now come on! Let's go greet the day."

"Could you have worded it anymore wimpier?"

"Oh hush up that's a fine way to word it!"

"Fuck offffffff!" She sticks her tongue at him.

"Make me! Now come on." the duo leave to room.

Later in the day…

"How does everyone ease up to her so quickly?...seriously...she's like the embodiment of a toxic personality…" Matt angrily rebounds the basketball off the wall as he continues grumbling "Seriously what was Parappa thinking?!...bringing her into our life…" Matt rebounds the ball once again, this time he does it with such force that it rebounds all over the place. It stops when it makes contact with the back of the head of someone much much larger.

"HEY! THAT HURT!" He turns to face Matt "WHO YOU THINK YA ARE TOSSING THAT AT MY HEAD?!"

"S-Sorry!...I-I was just t-tossing the ball around a-and accidentally threw it at the w-wall to hard and I l-lost control of-"

"Aw for the love of...you play ball then?"

"Y-Yes?..." Matt's only reply is the ball getting tossed at his torso with massive force that it sends him flying back into a wall "ACK…" The ball bounces away from him as he drops to the ground.

"Just so happens I do to. Coulda gone pro, but didn't wanna deal with all them agents and crap. Tell ya what. If you can beat me and my buddy ova here. I'll ignore ya stupid mistake. Course if ya lose...your head becomes my new ball!"

"I-I would rather keep my h-head on my s-shoulders please and thank you…"

"Then WIN idiot." Both begin walking up to Matt

"U-Uh...g-guys come on!...W-We can work this out!...E-EEP…" They're stopped as the ball hits the main one in the back of the head again.

"WHO HAS THE BALLS TO DO THAT TO ME AGAIN?!" He turns around in rage.

The ball easily rebounds back into Rammy's grasp as she looks at the two harassing Matt "Compared to you? I probably have the most balls. And I ain't even got none!" She sneers "Course this counts to I guess." She launches the ball and hits him square in the face and bounces back into her hand.

"HEY, YOU GOT A DEATHWISH?"

"Yeah I do, and it's got your name on it buddy."

"Pfft. Yeah, keep on talking."

"Fine then. Don't you think you walking parade floats need to understand that it ain't fair to challenge a guy to a 2v2 when he's the only one of his two?"

"Not our problem. What you gon do about it?" The original man says

"Yeah. Be his partner or somethin?" The smaller, but equally meatheaded man adds on.

"Yeah actually. Dunno why, but you two just piss me off for some reason. Normally I could care less about any idiot getting himself caught up in a scrap, but that idiot over there ain't just any idiot. He's an idiot I happen to know." Matt's eyes widen as he watches Rammy continuously try and defend him "And so I think if you're gonna make a bullshit challenge. Ya might as well oblige by the rules."

"You know what, fine. If it means I get to turn your head into a ball to!" He laughs along with his cronie as they get on the opposite side of the court. Rammy and Matt huddle over on their side.

"R-Rammy what are you do-"

"Parappa says you have what it takes to go pro. Is that right?"

"H-Hey let me spea-"

"Is. That. Right?"

"Y-Yes…"

"Then how bout you help me show some poser meatheads their place in the pecking order?"

"I-I can't do t-"

"Parappa said you knocked over an armed big dude with ease. These two shouldn't be that much harder given all they have is that pathetic excuse for a style."

"B-But…"

"Relax. You got Rammy on your side. And Rammy doesn't lose…when it comes to fightin at least…"

"Why the sudden last second change…"

"Relax. That's another thing. Right now is this thing. Now lets fuck up some faces!"

"I-I swear you have a fetish for hurting people…"

"Somebody gotta get the hurt one way or another!" She passes the ball to Matt as she cracks her knuckles "HEY DUMBER AND DUMBEST." The two look towards her and Matt "YOU DUMBASSES READY?!" they growl as they nod "Good…"

"R-Rammy I…"

"Trust me man. We got this."

"I-I…" Matt swallows roughly before calming down "Alright...I'll believe you…"

"That's the spirit!" She turns back to him "When the fights about to break loose. You just gotta Rave it Rammy!"

The game starts and the floor soon trembles as the two giant behemoths run around the court after Rammy and Matt. What they have in size and strength, they lack in sensibility and mobility. The smaller duo easily pass by them, but the problems arise when it comes to actually scoring. The bigger duo's heights make it a simple task of blocking the net. That's when Rammy gets an idea.

"YO! Mac!"

"I-It's Matt-"

"Not important! These guys are clearly gonna net block the entire time right?"

"I would to if I were that big…"

"That sad fact aside. Think we have a way of landing a basket?"

"No...they cover EVERYTHING just by standing! And even if we shoot over they can just stretch their arms out!"

"You're not seeing the obvious picture. Look at these walking steroid stereotypes and their inflatable muscles!"

"What are you getting a-..." Matt catches on. Their ridiculous physic was making a perfect stairway towards the basket.

"W-We won't be able to pull that off…It's stupid to even try..."

"This is Rammy you're talking to! Sensibility doesn't exist here!" She takes the ball and immediately hops up the giants body as she avoids his grasp and stomp bounces off his face and slam dunks the ball.

"HEY!"

"NO FAIR YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO FIND A WAY THROUGH!"

"S-She actually did it…" The ball bounces towards the middle, it was now up for a new point. Matt grabs the ball and slowly inhales before calmly exhaling "Here goes nothing!" Matt charges at the running bulk monsters as he uses them as a stepping stool. Stomp jumping off the smaller one to leap towards the net and dunk the ball in "GOT IT!"

The game went on like this. Whenever the bigger duo got the ball, the smaller duo could easily snatch and score on their way up. No matter what the bigger duo tried, all they ended up doing was giving the smaller duo an easier time scoring. Soon the match time ends at the score of 68 to 0 as both of the brutes collapse from having their faces stomped in multiple times.

"Guah…"

"Oh man...that ain't right…"

"HEY! QUIT YOUR BELLY ACHIN AND GET UP!" Both of them immediately listen to Rammy "Attaboys. Now you're gonna apologize to…Matt here and then get the fuck out of here. And never show your ugly mugs again.

"O-Or else what?..."

"Or else I stop holding back and cave your skulls in with my foot!" She stomps the ground, forcing her foot through the pavement deeply. Both brutes scream and run away instantly.

"WE'RE SORRY! WE'LL MAKE SURE TO NEVER MESS WITH YOU AGAIN MAAAAAAAN!"

"AND MAKE SURE TO STAY AS FAR AWAY!" Rammy says as she yells at the duo running away.

Matt walks up to Rammy in awe "You...actually saved my skin there…"

"Eh, it weren't nothin."

"But it was something! To me at least...You stood up for me when you didn't really need to! I-Is there anyway I can repay you?..."

"Well for starters you can help me get unstuck...my foot is currently clogged up tightly in the ground…"

"O-Oh!..." Matt grabs her arms and immediately begins pull to get her out. With a 'pop' noise, she's freed.

"Thank you kindly."

"Nooooo problem...now uh...what got you to wanna help me?...Why are you even around here? You mostly tag along after Parappa…"

"Ah...about that…" Rammy scratches her left ear.

"What happened?..."

"Might as well tell you… Here's what happened…"

* * *

" _Huh...where you three going?..."_

" _Sorry Parappa no time to explain, gotta go."_

" _S-Sorry Parappa…"_ Both Katy and Lammy rush down stairs with Ma-san stopping in front of the two.

 _("Katy booked us a gig at Leo's club for today. And apparently he got us a few concerts to play at a few towns over to. So we'll be gone for a couple days…")_ She scratches her cheek _("It's so out of the blue as well...like when'd she make the reservations and the call? And why without all our ok on it! It really grinds my gears…")_

" _MA-SAN!"_ Katy shouts from outside.

 _("Blegh...gotta go. Hope you to take care, we'll be back soonish?")_ she rushes out leaving the duo dumbfounded.

" _Huh...you'd think they'd tell me beforehand...I feel offended…"_

" _I think I know why it was so out of the blue…"_

" _Why?..."_

" _Well recall eleven days ago-"_

" _The day you and PJ became full friends?"_

" _Yeah. That night after they finally let you breathe…when you were feeling down and asked me to help teach you guitar?"_

" _Uh-huh?..."_

" _Well...I think you may have...offended Lammy by asking me instead of her...and I guess as a means of her not wanting to speak to you...Katy helped her plan this…"_

" _Oh...B-But it's not like I didn't try to ask her! She wouldn't even listen when I asked…"_

" _That's probably thanks to me...she still doesn't want to be within arms reach of me...which is where you currently are at so…"_

" _Ahahahaww maaaaaan…"_ He whines like a puppy who got in trouble " _I'm being blamed for something that I didn't do...joy…"_

" _Aw come on...don't let it get to you!"_

" _How can I not?!...The worst part is they didn't even tell me about it!"_

" _Guess they were that pissed?..."_

" _Ugh...I can't believe this…"_ He sighs " _I gonna go take a walk around town...need to air out my thoughts..."_

" _Oh, alright let me just-"_

" _Alone if you don't mind…"_

" _...Ok. I'll go...check up on the others then."_

 _"Ok. Just be careful with what you do…"_

" _Oh have faith in me!"_

" _Heh...I do I do…"_ Parappa quickly gets ready and heads out the door.

Rammy just waits a bit before speaking to herself " _Man...I can't seem to avoid trouble with her can I?...Now I got him upset because she doesn't wanna even try to make amends fully...great...I'm mad...I wonder if I can find PJ to spar with him and vent this out…well I won't find out by just standing here!"_ Rammy herself gets ready and rushes out the door.

* * *

"And...that's what happened."

"Yeesh...sounds like you're having one hell of a day…"

"You have no idea, but luckily the fantastic meathead brothers helped me vent my frustrations with their faces!"

"Eheh...g-good to hear…" Matt scratches his nose with a slight air of fear "Hey uh...Rammy...I…"

"Ugh...this again...Look I'm sorry about making a bad first impression on you that day alright?!..."

"N-Nono...what I wanted to say was...I may have misjudged you… You're actually a pretty great person to be around. When...i'm not in the direction of your anger…"

"Heh...is that so?"

"Yes! I'm upset it took me half a month to see it!"

"Better late than never right?" She chuckles.

"I guess that's one way to look at it." he nods "You've really opened my eyes, and saved my hide! Mind if I also get to call you a friend?..."

"Hm…" Rammy smugly dons a fake thinking pose.

"Come on...i'm sorry…"

"Heh...yeah you can. Only if I can as well."

"Of course!"

"Then alright!" She actually begins thinking this time "So...know anything fun to do around here? Parappa's usually my tour guide but uh...yeah…"

"OH um...I think I know a few places you may enjoy? I'm not fully sure."

"Can't hurt to try em."

"Great, then let's head off!"

"Your lead."

Rammy would never admit it, but Matt was actually a great day planner. Certainly showed her a fun time. She could only wish he was always this energetic.

 _The damn clone of mine and the blue cat can't open up to me? That's ok...it may hurt, it may suck, but hey. I at least got the other guys to accept me...huh...friendship is weird...But I'm their friend so...guess I'm weird? I don't mind it, but I do wonder...will they miss me...when I go back to hell?...If...I go back to hell?...What if...I just stayed up here?...Can….I even do that?..._


	19. Black Sheep of the Family Part 2

_Day 21 with Rammy_

("You two are being more immature than how you're describing Rammy to be…")

"How?! You know it's true! She stole Lammy's spot as Parappa's teacher!" Katy huffs as she tries to calm down.

("Bull. Shit. Parappa tried to reach out to Lammy, but every single time he wanted to get close, she scooted away to avoid Rammy! Even when Rammy wasn't even in the vicinity! Of course he'd ask Rammy when he thinks YOU don't even wanna teach him anymore!")

"H-He seriously tried asking m-me?!..." Lammy's eyes widen at her own lack of perception.

("Yes! I should know because he wouldn't shut up about it! So I had to listen to it…")

"Oh my god… I'M AN IDIOT…"

"No you are not. It's still his own fault for not being away from her OR taking into account our standing on the matter!"

("HE DID. Just because you're angry to a point you DON'T wanna accept the truth of the matter doesn't mean it never happened…") Ma-san growls ("I never thought I of all people would be the only telling someone else **they're** too angry to better handle a situation…") She crosses her arms and gets up ("I ain't fine with this...you two are behaving like spoiled brats...Rammy hasn't done ANYTHING to you! All she's doing is taking a bit of time from Parappa, that's cool, a coping person would do that with the only source of help they can get. Want that to stop? BE. HER. FRIEND! You'd help her cope at the same time so even if you assume she'll be an ass towards you, she can't at that point since she's being helped by you! And you'd get to be around mutt again…")

"Easier said than done…"

("No...no it's not...but I don't care. I still got my role as MilkCan's drummer to fill. So that's all i'm saying as I tag along by necessity…") She walks out on the two ("For a girl who learn to accept a lot from someone thanks to him...you really seem to have no shame in putting her on the spot for the same error you're committing now.") She's gone after those words are said.

"GAH!...what does she know…" Katy angrily punches the wall.

"C-Compared to us?...A-A lot really...s-she brings up so m-many valid points...I'm just t-tired from all this...I'm pinning t-the blame on Parappa for actions he didn't even d-do...and R-Rammy who hasn't really been aware of what she's d-doing!...just like how I was with her...k-karma sucks…" Lammy grabs a pillow and hugs it close.

"Feh...it's just that damn air of arrogance and ego! I just can't take it…"

"Well...t-that's Rammy in general...h-heck that's everyone f-from HELL in general…b-but the point we've b-been purposely overlooking is that s-she hasn't really DONE anything from it with us...t-towards us she's just e-extremely passive..."

"BUT SHE!..." Katy takes her time to think. Aside from her first day of being with them, Rammy in no way did ANYTHING to or with them. She stayed distant and extremely passive. She made no snide remarks or crude gestures towards them. She didn't insult or offend them. She didn't hurt them. Everything was simply an amalgamation thought up by her and Lammy's imagination. Ma-san was right. They WERE too angry to see the reality of how things went on. She didn't even try to give her a chance "My heart got in the way of my common sense…" She clutches the sides of her head "I am such a dumbass…"

"You and m-me both…"

Back at Parappa town the group of five sit at a table at beard burgers.

"So if we had chunky burgers yesterday, why are we going here today?" Rammy asks as she simply reclines on her seat.

"Eh...favoritism management!"

"A dumb way to put it, but Parappa's basically correct. Plus we have a pal who works here." PJ points towards Noodles "There he is over there." Noodles waves to them.

"Huh...cool fro...it almost…"

"Looks like noodles?" Parappa, PJ, Paula and Matt say with the most serious expression.

"Uh...yeah actually...kinda does." They all laugh leaving the girl incredibly confused.

"It's a long story Rammy." Parappa huddles closer "But I'll fill you in later. Right now we relax and eat!" He slumps as his happiness declines "Wish ALL of us were here though…"

"I know what you mean. Sweety rarely tags along if the guys outnumber the girls so that's why she's not here either. I tried telling her we have another girl here, but no luck."

"Sweety?" Rammy slumps her head to the side.

"His girlfriend. Sweety Bancha!"

"Oh her name IS Sweety?" She recenters her head "That must make pet names easier!" PJ shrugs.

"You know I'm amazed how quickly Leo managed to score them so many jobs in a row!" Matt says just counting the days that the trio are still gone for.

"It's not that far fetched. With a status like his, he probably has LOADS of connections." Paula says with a slight sigh "Must be nice to just have that ease…"

"Who's this Leo guy?"

"Oh he's a recent friend of ours. Rather strange dude, but he means well! Course he is rather mysterious since he never takes that helmet of his off! Hey Paula you know what he looks like under that?" Matt says as he rubs his chin.

"No clue! Everything that ever had a picture of him had him with the helmet on. Anything that talks about him always mentions how vague he is. In fact apparently only people in Neon Heights knows what's under it. Anyone outside of the place who say they catch him always give a different tale from the last. One said the saw him with cat ears, another said they saw him with horns! The list goes on." Paula taps her head "I wonder...think Leo is actually more than one guy tagging in and out a day? Maybe that's why he's so great at multiple things!"

PJ coughs up his drink. _Well...you're half right about the more than one aspect...just...it's still the same guy…_ "Paula I doubt it's multiple dudes masquerading as the same guy. That's just highly illogical! How could they all have the same voice?"

"The helmet probably has the same voice to use as a modifier!"

"Ok that's fair, but what about body type? That's harder to mimic."

"Ok ok so there are flaws in my little accusation...but still! It's just odd!"

"He sounds like quite the character." Rammy rolls her eyes.

"Guys can we...not talk about Leo?..." Parappa says as he presses his thumbs together.

Rammy's tone changes "Huh?...something up?"

"No it's just...I rather not hear about him...he did kinda help Katy and Lammy avoid me…" he then lowers his voice to not be heard " _And a few other things…"_

PJ frowns as he looks away from his downtrodden friend. _Huh...without context this must be killing him...course even with context it wouldn't be any better...plus i'm sure this is also that jealousy bit that Katy filled me in on…_ "Come on Parappa. He didn't do that. He offered to all of us that if we ever wanted to start playing out in front of a crowd again, that we just ask him! And I guess Katy just got that urge for MilkCan to go out and rock some more."

"Yeah well he seemed to have responded pretty quickly given how instantly he got a job for them...MULTIPLE jobs for them...it's all to convenient…"

"Well I'm sure he'd tell you WHERE they are if you asked him. Or maybe...you know...ask him yourself over what happened! He'd probably tell you." _But if Katy told him not to say anything then you're out of luck because he's such a Momma's boy…_

"That's a great idea! I'll go visit him!"

"Why not just call him over the phone...he gave all of us his number…"

"Well I wanna handle this face to face…"

"Uh huh...I see…" _I fear for Europa's safety…_ "But how can you be sure he'll be at his club?...He's currently helping the girls…"

"A busy guy like him? I'm sure he has to make constant stops back there."

PJ sighs. _That is slightly true...he does seem to always pop back over there…_ "You have a good point with that…"

"Exactly!...but not today...today I just wanna hang out with you guys. So I'll deal with him tomorrow…"

"Alright man." _I'm gonna have to warn Europa to be careful…_

"Feh...This Leo guy sounds like a mixed bag now…" Rammy puffs smoke out her nose in angry defense over Parappa.

PJ tenses up. _Uh oh...is she...synchronising with his emotions?...she was rather indifferent on him literally moments ago...and now she's giving off an air of destruction towards him like Parappa is...wow...he was right…these two have grown close...unfortunately now it looks like they wanna murder him...maybe I'm just...thinking to deep on this…? Lemme check…_ "Hey Parappa...a few days from now there's gonna be a festival in town...wanna come with me and Sweety to enjoy the festivities?"

Parappa immediately perks up, and to PJ's shock, Rammy also cheers up. Without even noticing Parappa's condition! "Sure! That sounds great!"

"Sure as hell sounds like it! Mind if I tag along?"

 _THEY ARE SYNCHRONISED….WOW…_ "Not at all, I'm sure Sweety would love to meet you Rammy." PJ nods as sweat drips down the back of his head. _I'm...amazed...like wow...if that's the case then she will become friends with Lammy and Katy...but...when?...Did Katy's choice of leaving to play with her band instead of trying to meet Rammy halfway mess the timeline up?...I hope he can fix it…_

"Something on your mind PJ?"

"Wazzat? Oh no. Just thinking about stuff. Nothing big, just a puzzler."

"Alright."

"Sorry for the wait guys, Dad's old tools have started breaking down lately making it difficult to make burgers." Noodles fumbles around his afro "Trying to fix it has stressed me out so much that my hair is starting to fall out in clumps!" He plucks out a tuft of his fro.

"Yikes...I'll check with my dad to see if he can help you fix it after we eat."

"Speaking of which. Mind not doing that while we have our food man?"

"Whoops. Sorry...I'm too tired to think rationally right about now…" He tosses the furball aside "I'll leave ya guys be…" He hobbles off.

"Beard Burger Master's beard burger making devices are on the fritz huh?"

"Sheesh Matt try saying that five times fast."

"Well what else would I call them Paula! That's what they are!" Matt chomps down on his burger "Tongue twisters aside. Think your dad can help fix em?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full Matt…" Paula takes a sip of her drink as she looks away. Matt's reply is to take another bite of his food.

"Well he might be able to. Him or Pinto. I'd give it a go, but I fear I might break them down further…" He sighs as he eats a fry.

"Aw don't belittle yourself before you even try!"

"Paula's right, can't be thinking you'll fail if you haven't even given it a go." PJ swallows a burger in one gulp.

"Well, maybe I'd test that when it's not for something so crucial."

"Very well."

The group leave Beard Burger after they finished their lunch break, Parappa taking a bit longer to leave the premises due to phoning his father.

"Are all your days this...quiet?" Rammy stretches her back after yawning.

"If we're lucky." The three of them say in unison.

"Huh...not the reply I thought I'd get...how ominous…" She blinks twice before shaking her head "What do you guys normally go through?"

"It's mostly a matter of what we get dragged into by being around Parappa. Or what we cause that Parappa has to fix." PJ sheepishly scratches his cheek.

"Dudes a magnet for insanity. I wonder how he manages..." Matt stares off into the distance vacantly.

"Every day or so we have a few things happen that are just really...out there." Paula's eyes sparkle as she gets lost in the bewildering confusion that is their history in PaRappa Town.

Rammy stares at the three before blinking once more in concern "Wow…"

 _Day 22 with Rammy._

"Alright. I'm gonna be off. I'll be back when I got the info I need."

"You sure you don't want me to tag along?"

"I just wanna talk to Leo is all. Don't need to threaten him." _Or maybe I should, but I dunno yet…_

"Very well. Just take care man. I'll go see what else there is to see in this town."

"Gotcha. See ya soon Rammy!" Parappa gives a quick wave as he heads towards his car and tosses his things in the seat beside him "Alright...hopefully I can get a lock on where they are so I can go to them and see if we can work this dumb thing out…" He drops his head on the steering wheel, causing the horn to blare out "This is building up so much stress in my gut...I don't like it...How was I supposed to know things would go in this direction?..." He plucks his head from the steering wheel "No use getting down now! Gotta a guy to interrogate!" As he tries to step on the gas, the car suddenly bounces slightly, as if someone snuck in "Huh?..." Parappa looks around, but doesn't see anything "Weird...must've been my imagination." He resumes driving off.

"This is the dumbest thing I've probably ever done so far in my life, but hey! He clearly needs help, but won't ask for it! And it's in my best interest to help him after what he's done for me! Besides...what he doesn't know won't hurt him." Rammy finds a comfortable position to recline in as she hides in the trunk of Parappa's car.

The drive towards Club Rainbow in Neon Heights was slightly longer than usual due to Parappa's constant doubt and hesitation, but he eventually arrives. He storms on in the club as Rammy sneaks out of the car away from his sight and hides until he leaves.

Parappa bursts through the door, and to his better surprise, Leo IS here "Hm? HEY! Parappa my man! To what do I owe the pleasure!"

"Not in the mood for formalities...Leo mind telling me where MilkCan's at right now?..." Parappa's brash demeanor hits Leo like a truck.

"Oooooof...save the animosity for rap battles man...Anyway...I can't tell you where they are...client's privacy and all that…" _So this is what Uncle PJ's call was about...oh boy..._

"But your client's are my three friends...surely they wouldn't mind their ROOMMATE from going to them for a chat…"

"Eeeeeh...sorry man...that was Katy's orders…" His helmet emits a sweatdrop icon "She told me no one was allowed to ask for their location…" He pokes him on the nose "Especially you...even told me to do this and everything in case you came to me to ask…" He pulls back his finger from his face "What did you do to them?..."

"NOTHING!...and who are you to just listen to every little command as such?!" Parappa heats up in anger.

"Sorry man, don't take it personal. But when I offered you guys any chance at jammin job opportunities, that also includes any little specific requests as add ons." He taps his helmet "Plus she was like...really not happy over the phone...couldn't really say no. All three of them could kick my ass if they so pleased soooo...yeah…"

Parappa struggles to calm down "So you aren't telling me anything then?..."

"I'm sorry! I can't...not unless any of them TELL me that I can…now if you don't mind...I really gotta go...I came back here to grab some stuff for them. And I really must get going, or i'll be too late to arrive for their gig tomorrow…"

"I'm going with you."

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo." He flails his arm about in front of him "That's a big nono. She was pissed off at you man, if you storm in on them now you'll most likely make things worse...and how does that help anyone?..."

"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?!..."

"I just think of it as common sense to read the room?..." Leo's helmet emits a soft light "Come on man brighten up. Things will get better! I'm sure their anger will blow over and will want to speak with you again before you know it! Just...wait it out alright?"

Parappa growls "Not like I have a choice...fine..." He turns around "If you get any word on them allowing me to go, you contact me immediately…"

"Sheesh...I will…" _Never thought I'd get such a sour chat from my own father…_

"Good…" He stomps out of the club.

"Eheh...n-nice chat with you to...oy vey…" The door closes as it's sound echoes through the establishment, but a few moments afterwards it opens up again "Gah...ok Parappa what do you wanna ask no- Oh...hello there…" Leo stares at Rammy who angrily looks at him.

"You're this Leo Steps guy?...Huh...you look like a massive twink…"

 _I have no control over how my body ends up...blame my parental genes…Would future you have said the same?...you were always so nice to me..._ "Thank you for that...lovely input...Nice to see you Urami."

"The heck you call me?..."

"Gah...sorry...slip of the tongue. I meant to say Rammy." _I'm so used to you being nice I forgot you didn't GET this nickname yet...after all it's Lammy who helps you GET the nickname in the first place…_ "Freelance guitarist, originating from hell. One amazing rocker second to none...except...yeah. To what do I owe the pleasure of you meeting me? Looking for a job offer yourself? I could help ou-"

"CAN IT."

"Oh dear…"

"I was gonna lightly rough you up with a chat after Parappa left...but he left rather heated...and that got to me. So before I continue askin what he was askin...I think I ought to make you apologize to him first…"

"Apologize? I did nothing wrong...I just kept my word that I would do my best for whoever asked me of something… The girls at MilkCan asked and gave me specific orders! Not my fault they didn't want him finding them…"

"Gah...fucking figures…"

"Look can't you just calm do-" Leo swerves to the side avoiding a table that's thrown towards him by Rammy "Oh no…"

"I ain't calmin down. Reason or not. You still peeved him off, and so you gotta apologize."

"I can't just apologize for baseless anger that he got himself into with!" He bobs to the left, avoiding a jab from her "Rammy please-" He weaves to the right to avoid a kick "Let's be civilized here-" He jumps back to avoid her overhead body blow "Come on…"

"Come on NOTHING! Now quit dodging!" Leo continuously avoids her strikes as he motions around her "I SAID QUIT IT!"

Leo steps down on both her feet and catches both her hands within his own "THERE! Alright?! Now you can't do anything else! Now can we please just calm down and talk this through like reasonable adult-" Rammy rears her head back as she drives it forward into Leo's helmet, shattering the face screen in one go and causing him to stumble backwards and let her go.

Rammy dizzily shakes her head to get the glass bits off as blood slightly trickles down her face, once she regains her balance she looks towards the man in front of her "Hah...they don't call me Rammy for nothin…"

Leo regains his balance as he stands back upright. His face completely visible to the girl in front of him. "I really wished you wouldn't do that...but like you said...with a name like Rammy...it should've been obvious to me…" Rammy stays transfixed on his face, it strikes her like a hammer on a nail. His face looked like her doppelganger.

"What the...you related to her?..."

Leo sighs "Slightly...but not exactly…" With his face fully exposed, he decides to remove the helmet fully as there wasn't really a point to keeping it on "Man fixing a cracked screen is easy...but a flat out shattered one?...That'll take a while...Luckily I have a few spares…"

Rammy is now even more disturbed with his appearance. He looked like a cross between a sheep and a dog! A very specific sheep and dog. Rammy's replies however are more akin to PJ's first reaction "Who or what the hell are you…"

"Currently? I guess you can call me a shepherd!" Rammy simply stares at him angrily "Tough crowd...well, you don't look like you'd believe me even if it is the blatant truth." Leo rubs his face, trying to wipe the blood trickling down his forehead "Gah...I'm lucky the glass bits missed my eyes…"

"I'm not an idiot...don't treat me like one...so just explain and i'll see…"

"Alright alright." Leo manages to dust the glass shards out of his hair as he finishes wiping the blood off. He tosses a handkerchief to her "Might wanna clean that blood of your face as I tell this to you."

"Fine. Just hurry it up."

"Well. Who do I look like to you right now?"

"That's a stupid question...you look like Lammy...mixed with a bit of Parappa…" As she says this Leo immediately changes shape.

"Are you sure about that?"

"What the fucking hell?...Now you look like the damn blue cat Katy mixed with Parappa!"

"Great. Hopefully this makes my tale the more believable. I am from the future-"

"Bull."

"I am Parappa's son-"

"Bull."

"And I traveled back in time-"

"Bull."

"You gonna listen or what?"

"I already don't believe you."

"But you clearly saw me change in front of you. Can't argue with that can you?"

"Special effects. No biggie."

"Feh...whatever. Well I'm telling you the truth, Parappa IS my eventual father that I have come back in time to help out of a bind...that I forgot what was…"

"You are a dumbass. Can't even make a believable excuse…"

"While I will agree that I am in fact a dumbass, I will argue that it's not an excuse. Although you are fair to call it vaguely believable." He tosses a photo at her, she catches it between her fingers without much effort "Here's some more evidence, it'd be hard to forge that."

"With the shit you have available to you? It'd probably be easy…"

"I have video evidence as well if you're this much of a nonbeliever. Hell. You were probably the person who spent the most time with me aside from my mother and father that you even told me things that I can tell you that would prove me right. Because you never told anyone else these things!"

"Bull. Shit."

"You used to have a teddy bear. You couldn't sleep without it so adjusting to overworld life was difficult. The bears name was Grunge. Aside from your anger towards Lammy, you are actually also very jealous of her not because of her career meddling with yours, but because you think she's better than you in appearance and personality wise. Hell you even think she's prettier than you. You actually do want to get along with Katy and Lammy, and in fact they were the first two people you wished opened up to you before the rest and not having that happen devastated you, but you would never admit i-"

"SHUT UP!" She chucks another table at him, however she misses by a longshot as he doesn't even need to dodge this time.

"Am I right then?"

"Fuck off...it's all lucky guesses…" Her face is red with anger and embarrassment as she huddles down.

"Auntie Rammy, I wouldn't know this if it weren't the truth! Hell the reason I'm close to you is thanks to how close you were with Dad during my birth and life so forth! Guess to you I was just a new smaller Parappa."

"The fuck you call me?"

"Auntie." He rests his face on his hand "I have a bad habit of calling all my dads friends Auntie and Uncle."

"Feh...that's...endearingly dumb."

"Maybe so. But I love the names. You all are like family to me. It helped that you all treated everyone like family...and hey. I can give you a little spoiler. You do get along with the two of them and do become friends in the end."

"Now that's massive bullshit...cuz I don't picture that happening…"

"Neither did Katy when I told her. But she wanted to give you a shot all the same."

"So you're the reason why she was so ok with it when she first saw me the day of my arrival."

"I will take credit for that much yes."

"But then Parappa kinda messed that up a bit…"

Leo frowns "What did my dad do this time…" The entire explanation simply dumbfounds Leo as he sighs in massive dejection "What a mess...the timeline is already getting all warbled...luckily I'm still changing so it's not completely a lost caused for me...I'm sure I can fix this and set it on the right track."

"Speaking about you changing. What's up with that?...You keep swapping between a cat and a sheep..." As Leo tries to explain, immediately he changes again...but this time "And now...you look like me…"

"Ho boy...get ready for a big explanation…"

The explanation was indeed long and had to be done multiple times due to Rammy's continued disbelief. She did believe him in the end however "So I was originally just a close friend huh?"

"Pretty much...but I guess my interfering now made you a contender for my dad's heart…"

"I didn't think he'd think of me that way…"

"Hey now. Don't be pinning ALL the blame on him. Another main factor to me looking like this is because the girl he thinks about will inevitably say yes to him asking. So that means, you clearly think the same of him."

"I DO NOT!"

"My face doesn't lie Auntie."

"CHANGE IT!"

"I can't exactly do that. I only change when his mind is on another one of his friends."

"Blegh...wonder what got him to think of me right now?...wait...how long have we been talking?..."

"It's been about...TWO HOURS...HOLY CRAP I'M LATE…"

"Shit...Parappa's been home and is probably wondering where I am…" Rammy sighs "This time junk is messing with my head…"

"I'd love to explain more, but I kinda don't have the time…"

"Who else knows about you?"

"Just Katy and PJ really. You could ask PJ and he'd tell you the things I told him and Katy!"

Rammy nods but then pops another question "...Think you can drop me off back at PaRappa Town?"

"AUNTIE I'M LATE I CAN'T JUST-"

"Ahhhhh. Right now….the timelines different isn't it? I'm no longer just auntie...hell...looking at your face like you told me...it's not lying that currently...I'm your mom."

"B-Butdatjus…"

"And as your 'mom'...I say you have to drive your mother back to her current home!"

"H-HHHNNGGGAABBBGNNN...OK! BUT LET'S HURRY!...Katy will skin me alive if i'm any later…"

"Good boy."

"I'm hating this already…"

 _Day 29 with Rammy_

"THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT MIRROR CITY!" Katy shouts on her microphone as the band bows before leaving the stage.

"You three were as amazing as usual! That's another group of fans for MilkCan!" Leo fistbumps the air.

"Heh...thanks Leo…"

"Y-Yeah thanks..."

"What's wrong with you two?" Leo continuously looks between Lammy and Katy before Ma-san speaks up.

("Go on you two, tell him.") The duo sigh before nodding.

"W-We…"

"Want to stop this mini tour…"

"And j-just go back t-to our friends…"

"Oh is that all? That's simple!"

"But we're still kinda in the middle of our jamming tour…"

"Well I can organize it so that your next concert is the last for the trip, that won't be to hard. The thing is we just need to find a place for your concert."

"Great!...c-can we invite our friends? I...wanna revoke the order I gave you..."

"Sure thing Katy! But first let's see where we can send you...Hm...That's to far and would be an inconvenience to them...You already played there...That area requires you to go overseas...This one by plane...OH!"

"What?" The trio say in unison to the excited helmeted man.

"PaRappa Town's having a festival in two days! They still need a main music act for the star attraction! Where else to rock out then your hometown right?~"

Stars illuminate in their eyes as they once again together go "THAT'S PERFECT!"

"Thought so! And hey, for added bonus. It's in the place you three had your first ever live concert as well!"

"Wow, it's l-like it was fate or s-something...h-how convenient!" Lammy ponders the odds, but shrugs it off from happiness.

"Ok. I'll get set it up. You girls go rest up. Gonna have a long drive to get back to PaRappa town." The trio nod before walking off, as they're out of sight Leo immediately pulls his phone out and calls Parappa.

" _Leo?..."_

"Yo. You told me to call you when they told me if it was alright to meet them."

" _F-FINALLY?"_

"Yes! Buuuuuuuut."

" _But?..."_

"You're staying in PaRappa Town."

" _WHY?!..."_

"Cuz they're coming to you guys! At the festival that's happening in two days. They're gonna be star attraction!"

" _Oh...You could've said that first! You nearly made me crush my phone in my hands!"_

"Sorry...Wanted to surprise you with good news…"

" _Well...it kind worked. But thanks nonetheless. And um...sorry for my anger towards you...after calming down I kinda realized I went off on you improperly…"_

"You had your reasons. Do I agree with them? Eh can't really say. In the end, patience is a virtue!"

" _Indeed! Alright, gotta hang up. Gonna have to invite everyone else."_

"Alright. Ciao!" He hangs up "GREAT! Things are starting to get back on track! Phew...this little hiccup in time was starting to scare me…" He takes a deep breath "Alrighty, now time to set up their gig…"

Back with Parappa, he is literally jumping for joy from the news "WOOOHOOO THEY DON'T HATE ME ANYMORE!"

"How could anyone stay mad at a guy like you?"

"Beat's me, but they clearly managed just fine." Parappa shrugs "But that doesn't matter now because they found it in them to forgive me! And hey this means they'll finally give you another shot Rammy!"

Rammy turns her gaze towards the ceiling "I hope so…"

"I KNOW so! Now I gotta call Paula and Matt and tell them to tag along with us and PJ and Sweety! Then I gotta tell PJ that we invited them. That's a lot of calls..."

"I'll head on over to PJ's to tell him."

"Really? I can just call him-"

"I wanna talk about some stuff with him anyway." She gets up "It's just something random though so no need to worry."

"Alrighty! Man it makes me happy to see you branch out to my other friends on your own! You really have started recovering on the stability front!"

"Again for like the nth time. I have you to thank for that. I honestly didn't think I'd ever bounce back, but here I am. And i'm also enjoyin it." She smiles "And I don't even care that I turned into a partial softy over it! Honestly think it suits me."

"The Rammy from twenty nine days ago would never say that!"

"The Rammy of then was also too stupid to know what was good for her!" She grapples Parappa in a headlock "But luckily she wasn't stupid enough to avoid making this guy her friend!"

"Ack! Easy!" He taps his hand on the floor like a wrestler who wants to throw in the towel, but stops as the grapple turns into a hug "Huh?..."

"...thanks for everything…"

"...anything for a friend ya know?" He hugs back as the two stay in the embrace for a while. After the time arrives for the hug to break Rammy immediately speaks up.

"That never happened. Understood?"

"Heh...understood!"

And with that, Rammy's off while Parappa proceeds to call. Once Rammy arrives at her intended destination she tries to knock on the door only for the door to already open. Before her stands a pink bear.

"Oh! Hello!"

"Ah...hey there-" Rammy recalls a name PJ brought up and goes out on a limb to call the new face in front of her "Sweety right?"

"Yes! How'd you know?"

"PJ mentioned the name. Speaking of which, is he in there? Wanna talk to him about stuff."

"Yeah he's in there. We were actually going to go out somewhere for the night."

"Aw bummer. Sorry to intrude on you then. But I still got one thing I gotta tell the two of you before I head back. It looks like MilkCan's coming back to play at the festival you and him invited me and Parappa to. So Parappa's calling the others to get them to tag along."

"Oh! That's great to hear! It'll certainly perk everyone back up that's for sure! Uh...Rammy was it?"

"Correct."

"Ah good! Thanks so much for the heads up! I honestly don't know why PJ didn't invite them in the first place…when I asked he just said he was testing something! Honestly it's hard to tell what's up with him."

"Heh...with a blank expressionless face like his? I can only assume." Sweety giggles at Rammy's bluntness.

"For sure!" Sweety then stops to think "Hm...wait here!" She heads back inside the building much to the rams confusion. Said confusion grows as the building starts bouncing around in place as if an argument was going on.

"What the fu-…"

Eventually Sweety walks out of the building with PJ who now has a red mark on the side of his face in the shape of Sweety's hand as well as a bump atop his head "Great news! You get to tag along with us!"

"Um...ya sure?...Cuz I can just come back another time-"

"I already convinced PJ as you can see." She points towards the DJ bear as he simply blinks in unamusement.

"Yeah...convinced...we'll go with that…" He sighs before turning to Rammy "Well, I can't exactly say no to my girlfriend so guess you're with us! And neither can you so you're with us whether you wanna be or not!"

"But!-"

"Uh uh Rammy, you're with us as he said!" Sweety crushes Rammy in a hug before putting her in a cargo hold over her shoulder.

"W-WHOA H-HEY!..." she struggles with in her grasp as PJ looks her in the eye.

"Told you."

"Ugh…" Rammy crosses her arms in a huff as her face turns red.

The night goes by rather adorably, but Rammy just can't help feeling like a third wheel throughout everything, and they constantly try to assure her it's fine.

"It's fine. I really am ok with you being here Rammy." PJ winds his arm "Actually I've been meaning to ask you somethin."

"That's a coincidence. I had some things to talk about to with you to."

"Huh. Well you first I guess. I assume that's why you went to see me in the first place."

"Yeah it was, but uh...don't feel right just stopping what you two are doing for that."

Sweety crushes Rammy in a hug again "OHHHHH YOU CAAAAAN"

"HGNHH…"

"I mean we intruded on what you were doing by bringing you along with us so it's fine if you do the same to us! Really!" She and PJ both nod.

"ALRIGHT...LET ME...BREATHE…" Sweety let's Rammy go. After she drops she immediately tries to inhale all the air that was squeezed out of her lungs "T-Thaaa...nks…"

"My bad!...don't know my own strength at times!..."

"Haaaaah...gotta say it's weird being on the receiving end of pain…" She motions her neck around to remove an annoying crick "Well uh...Sweety not sure if you'll understand what I mean when I say this but...uh...PJ."

"Yeah?"

"I know what's under the helmet."

"Under the hel-...OH!" PJ's eyes widen as much as they can for his facial expression.

"What does that mean dear?"

"Uh...a spoiler! For a show we got into!"

"Oh. Well don't tell me! I might wanna get into it if it interests the two of you!" She plugs her ears and looks away. PJ takes the opportunity to approach and whisper to Rammy.

" _D-Don't talk about it outloud!..."_

" _Why not? It's not like if Sweety knew about it, it'd affect time!...Would it?...I don't really know...the whole thing messes with my brain..."_

" _It won't affect it immediately, but it might start a chain of events that could fuck over Leo's mission. And honestly, I rather he not fail to prevent Parappa from being unable to stop something big. I would figure you ALSO wouldn't want him to fail if it means that it'd affect Parappa negatively right?"_

" _Well of course!...But he has us! He has ME! I won't let whatever that is, happen to him!"_

" _Very admirable and completely noble. Unfortunately you were already his friend by that point and it clearly still happened so...it's very obvious that we couldn't do much…"_

" _Gahhh...don't use logic on meeee…"_ She rubs the sides of her head " _I never thought I'd get this much of a headache from a dude who claims to be my best buds kid...only to actually BE his kid…"_

" _Like it or not. He gave a ton of evidence supporting the fact that he IS Parappa's son from the future."_

"Who's Parappa's son from the future?..." Sweety says as she stares at the two of them.

"WAAAAH!" PJ recoils back from Sweety's sudden intrusion.

"Aw fuck…" Rammy simply bounces backwards from surprise.

"Pffft...Parappa's son from the futureeee? You misheard us. Why would we ever say something like that?" Sweety only stares at PJ with her arms crossed. Wanting an explanation "Eh...you see...uh...Rammy take over." He passes the torch as he forces himself to fall asleep on the spot standing up.

"Oh real fucking classy man…" Rammy facepalms from the action of the bear "Well. I know when I've been caught. But mind if we go to a place not so public if you want me to explain?"

"As long as you really do explain what you mean…" They both walk off, but they forget and leave PJ behind. Once at a destination they assume to be private, Rammy begins "Alright...I don't fully have the complete grasp over this but…" She scratches her head before snapping her fingers "Actually truth be told i'm sure you'd be as skeptical as I was when I was told. That aside, Leo's apparently Parappa's son from the future."

"Huh...guess that means I was right."

"Yeah I know right? It was a shock to me- what."

"Well yeah, after the night of our first time going to his club. It was odd that he was such an incognito figure. Ma-san, Matt and Paula all seemed to know him and I decided to look into him a little more. They mentioned his talents and I couldn't help but compare them to this little group of ours. And to my surprise, it matched up." She places a finger on her own cheek with a wink "So I boiled it down to three things. A, he was a stalker, but that was debunked due to how trapped into his own town he is to a point he couldn't have the time or energy. Plus he was really nice! He wasn't at all creepy like stalkers tend to be. B, he was a super fan, which almost was the real one until I noticed he didn't really fanboy as often when everyone wasn't together when going to see him and instead acted like a lifelong friend. As if he already knew everyone...which led to. C, through some oddball scenario, he was someone's kid or relative from the future! And wouldn't you know it? He was Parappa's kid! Darn...I was banking on Matt's adopted kid given his style, but hey. The result was still a dog for a dad!" She giggles

"...You managed put all that together and didn't bother telling anyone? Or Leo himself?"

"Honey this is PaRappa Town! What DOESN'T happen around here? And well I couldn't exactly talk to him about it. It'd be rude and he'd probably deny it all anyway. As for the rest of my friends...well they wouldn't really believe me because at the time it all seemed illogical." She shrugs "But hey guess it's not THAT illogical anymore. Who figured it out?"

"Apparently PJ caught him. Then Katy. And lastly me."

"Oh so not everyone knows. Wonder how they figured him out…"

"Well I nearly blinded him in my way of figuring him out." Sweety just stares at her with widen eyes "What?"

"You nearly made the future son of your new best friend blind?!"

"Not like I knew he was his son at the time! And I was angry! Angry that he made Parappa angry! So I bashed my head into his and saw his face that way."

She rolls her eyes but her smile returns "About that! What's he look like?"

"Eh...that's...the rough bit explaining...I think PJ can tell yo-..." She looks around "Uh...I think we forgot to bring PJ…"

"W-Wha…" She looks around "D-Did we leave him behind?..."

Back with PJ, he wakes up abruptly "Weh...Ok now did Rammy explain every...thing…" PJ looks about to see they had ditched him "HEY! WHERE DID THE TWO OF YOU GO!..."

Once the trio reunite and fully explain to Sweety, she simply sighs. "Honestly I blame you PJ for Parappa being in this situation with his heart to begin with!"

"Why me?"

"You taunted him and put the ideas in his head. Now he's slowly falling for them. You're putting poor Leo's ACTUAL mother at risk here!"

"I could help him out if he TOLD me who his real mother is."

"It's for the best that he doesn't tell you, you'd probably mess it up dear!"

"Oh have faith in me...I'm not Parappa…"

"Exactly. You're not. So don't think you'll be able to handle something he himself will have to." The two bicker as Rammy watches.

"Uh...It's not my part to speak up, but Leo did say not to meddle or tell anyone that we know who he really is as to not mess up things any further…"

"Yeah well-...wait...any further?" Sweety frowns towards Rammy.

"Yeah...turns out he's as consequential in his actions like his dad...Meaning he both helped us avoid things...but we'll probably have to deal with new things in the end thanks to him…" PJ scoffs "And he tells me not to meddle...what about him and all he's already done?...what'll happen now…"

Rammy collides her fists together "I ain't worried! Whatever we have to deal with now, I'll certainly make it regret wanting to come across us! Plus Leo himself said he'd not let anything happen to us, but I ain't one to play the damsel!" steam ejects from her nose as she stomps the ground like a bull.

"I've noticed...oh dear this brash moxie of yours will probably be a reason towards us running into the new trouble after all." He chuckles "But you're not wrong with one thing. I am not gonna go down as the one who needs saving...not this time…"

Sweety shakes her head with a slight grin "While you two tweak your sensibility away, I will say this. It's certainly going to get even more livelier around here. I just know it." She giggles "For better or for worse, you all always seem to mix yourselves into the situation and make it turn out alright in the end. So i'm not worried." She turns away from them "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't take care nonetheless!" She laughs as she cargo grabs Rammy again.

"H-HEY! NOT AGAIN…"

"Oh yes again! I have a fun place I wanna take you to!"

"Sweety your definition of fun and Rammy's definition of fun may greatly differ."

"WHAT HE SAID!"

"Oh hush! The both of you will be eating your words before you know it! Now let's gooo! We still have the rest of the night to have fun with!" She runs off with Rammy screaming in her grasp and PJ embarrassingly following suit.

* * *

"Ok! So now that we have that settled, it'll be just two days till that all goes down!" Parappa happily dances in place until he hears the door open.

"I'm baaaack…"

"Oh Rammy!" He runs off to greet her "That must've been some chat you were ha-...ving…" He stares at the ewe who is cladded entirely in pink "Lookin…"

"Not. A. Word."

"I was gonna say you lookin nice."

"...t-thanks…"

"May I ask...how did this happen?"

"While...trying to talk to PJ...I ended up getting roped up with him and Sweety's date...by the end of it...Sweety invited me to a clothing store...and...she thought it'd be nice...as a symbol of new friendship...that the two of us buy and wear...the others style…"

"Well you rock it if that's one thing you'd like to hear."

"T-They said the same thing...but I just feel…"

"Off?"

"No...strangely enough...I do kinda...like it...I meant like...i'll be made a bigger fool for wearing this…"

"Who in their right mind would judge you for wearing something you enjoy? Nobody up here that's for sure! And as for hell? Feh what do they know? Nothing that's what!"

"Heh...if only it were that easy to convince myself right away…" She shakes her head "But you're right! Ain't nobody gonna tell me what I fucking can or can't wear!...Justttt...don't expect this to be a common thing…"

"Heh, I figured so no worries. You do you."

"Proper response. Good boy." They both share a laugh before Rammy interrupts herself "Aw fuck...PJ never got to tell me what he wanted to say...I'm sure it wasn't that important...or else he'll contact me another time."

"He'll probably tell you the day of the festival since we're guaranteed to meet him there."

"You're right. For now...I'm changing out of this. I may like and I may have gone soft, but prolonged exposure to this might mess with my brain and I ain't havin that!"

 _Day 31 with Rammy_

"Man this place is just amazing! Sometimes I forget how fun a party our town can create when nothin crazy is goin on!"

"I'll say! Wish the girls would hurry up though...it's a simple festival, not a royal ball! I see no need to get this dolled up for it…"

"Girls gotta flaunt their style man."

"I'm starting to think living with four women is beginning to make you side with em more often."

"No maaaaan, I just respect those who got a fashion streak they gotta share."

"You mean like you and your love of baggy pants?"

"Hey don't bring my pants into this PJ."

"Why not? Why is that the only type of pants you wear anyway?"

"I'm not answering. In fact i'm not even continuing this conversation."

"Fine." The two stare away from each other in awkward embarrassment "You sure Matt couldn't come?"

"He said he'd be busy all day today."

"But Tamanegi gave us the day off…"

"Apparently it's family related. And from what I can recall. His cousin runs a clothing store...but I would think she'd shut down for the day to enjoy the festivities...guess not."

"Eh, it's not for us to question so who knows."

"Yeah I suppose your right...still wish we all could've been here." As Parappa sighs, Sweety, Paula and Rammy all speak up in unison, attracting Parappa and PJ's attention.

"Heeeey!" Sweety wore a yellow venus bandeau dress with a heart pattern all over along with pink shoes.

"Sorry we took so long boys!" Paula was wearing an orange strapless crop top with blue jeans and a new variation of her white jacket as well as her signature blue shoes.

"..." Rammy stayed silent. She wore a pure black traditional Chinese dress of all things! It had silver lines around the sleeves, neck and lower sides. It had letters on on the front and back, but they were in Japanese. Parappa stared at the letters on the front of her dress until he managed to decipher it.

"Warui...beibei...OH! BADASS BA-" He is immediately shushed by Rammy shoving her hand towards his mouth. She placed a finger over her lips signifying that the last thing he should do is read out what exactly the words said.

"P-Pffft...well...it's fitting to say the least Rammy!" PJ poorly stifles his laughter as Rammy turns to him and simply gives him the middle finger with her free hand causing him to fully let loose his laughter. Rammy huffs as she turns around, clearly too embarrassed to say anything. Parappa takes this time to read the characters on the backside of her dress.

"Kokoro...teishi...That's Heartstopper!" Rammy angrily turns back around and flails her arms at the dog who whimsically defends himself "Heeeeeey, stooooop. I just wanted to reaaaaaaaaad. Your dress is right anywaaaaaay." He chuckles as she slows her 'attack'.

"This wasn't my idea of an outfit…" She crosses her arms as her face turns red. Only for both Paula and Sweety to speak up.

"But it fits you girl! You work that dress splendidly! And like Parappa said, both words fit you! I doubt any guy will be able to keep their eye off of you!"

"Like I care about that…"

"Well obviously not, but it doesn't hurt to just stop, drop and break some hearts right?"

"No...but I'd rather break faces instead…"

The girls just giggle "We knoooooow~"

"Whatever...can we just...go have fun or whatnot? The less I have to think about me wearing this the better...Even if it does suit me…"

"As you wish ya badass babe!" Parappa says as he immediately runs off.

"W-WHY YOU LITTLE!..." Rammy ejects steam from her ears as she runs after him "COME BACK HERE!"

"You'll have to catch me first!" Within seconds the two of the are lost in the wave of people who are also enjoying the day.

"We should probably go after them." Sweety says as she stares at the dust trail.

"It's not like she'll actually hurt him." Paula scoffs

"No, but she'll probably take it out on someone else." PJ states as he eats a donut he got from classically nowhere.

"Oh...right…" They all run after the dog and the ram.

The festival grows in magnitude and splendor as the day goes by increasing the enjoyment of the group as they wander around to witness it all.

"Man, more and more booths are opening up by the minute!"

"I'll say, this might be one of the biggest events to happen to us in a while that wasn't chaotic or bad." PJ as he eats another donut.

"Dear where did you even get those?"

"Did you already forget who you're dating?..."

"But you were getting back into a healthy lifestyle…"

"I am, but come onnnn. Today a day to just cut loose and enjoy yourself!"

"Alright…"

"Good! Now let's check out the food booths!" He vanishes instantaneously as Sweety just groans dejectedly.

"I guess it's too much to ask him to keep a good lifestyle?"

"Relax. He started his better streak thanks to wanting to keep up with me. If that's what it takes to help him out then I guess I gotta butt heads with him again." Rammy smirks as she crosses her arms.

"Normally I'd be against this sort of thing, but i'll make an exception for this occasion." She sighs before angrily walking off to find him.

"Well no use in just standing around, might as well look around as well while she looks for PJ!" Paula grabs both Rammy and Parappa by the arms and walks off while dragging them along.

The first booth they stop at is selling clothes which earns an obvious sigh from Rammy and Parappa until the see the man who's currently in charge of the booth.

"Matt?!" the three say, spooking the guy into turning around.

"Huh? OH HEY! Was wondering when you'd guys pop in!"

"Dude you didn't mention that THIS is why you were gonna be busy!"

"You didn't ask Parappa."

"...alright I'll accept that."

"Heh. Sorry for that, cousin asked me last second before you called to help her out during the festival. I just couldn't say no." He motions his arm around the merch "Now I get to help sell these nice duds made specifically for now so I have that keeping happy." He chuckles "Y'all buying anything?"

"Sorry Matt. Already kinda spent buying mine, Sweety's and Rammy's new get up for today."

"Aw bummer, that's alright."

"I'll see what I can buy!" Parappa happily glances at the wares as Rammy follows suit.

"Sure I guess I can glance around to."

"Glad to hear it! Just pick what you find appealing and I'll help with the rest!"

"Got what caught my eye!" Parappa holds up an orange visor cap as well as a blue denim jacket.

"Huh. The colors are certainly a blast from the past. And a hat that's not a beanie? How blasphemes! But it's still orange so maybe not!" He smirks "How about you Rammy?"

"Hm...got this peakin my interest."

"Uh...you...sure?" He stares at the pink vest she's holding.

"Would I be holding it up to you if I wasn't?"

"Uh...got me there. I was just...a bit curious...is all…" He nervously chuckles "I think you'd look good in it!..."

"Don't try to save yourself...I already know it seems out of place for me to want to wear these colors…I just started gaining a fondness of em thanks to Sweety."

"E-Eheh...really? Well no shame in that. Especially if you're openly admitting that to me!"

"Yeah...but don't go telling anyone else that!"

"Roger that!"

While Matt helps bag their objects, Parappa turns to Paula "You sure you don't wanna try lookin? You might find something and I'm sure I can spend a few to get it for you."

"No. If I start, I'm sure I wouldn't stop and I don't think you have the financial upkeep to keep up with me."

"Yikes...thanks for the heads up...but...nevermind all that, just go and pick. It just doesn't feel right to me you know? That me and Rammy get to buy something and you get nothing but to just watch."

"Alright…if it'll make ya happy." Paula glances around and immediately she gets to urge to take multiple things, but manages to just barely restrain herself "I...managed to get something!...and just...one thing!..."

"Huh. I'm impressed! And you said you'd end up getting multiple things!"

"Y-Yeah...h-how bout that!..." Matt watches Paula's pathetic display at self restraint as he rolls his eyes.

"Hey Paula, you gonna pay for those other things you're hiding behind your back?" Paula's colors fade from her body when Matt calls her out "Forget it, I'll just buy em for you. No need to destroy your sanity to hold back or Parappa's wallet either."

Both Paula and Parappa force out a pathetic laugh "Thanks Matt..."

The day goes on as people start migrating towards the place where the live music event is said to happen and our main group head along as they await the show to start "The show's gonna start soon! And I just can't WAIT!" Parappa bounces up and down in excitement until a hand places itself on his shoulder.

"Easy man, we're just as excited!" it was Matt.

"Hey you made it here!"

"Yeah, my cousin was merciful in letting me watch the show with you guys. And with that here I am!" he smiles as he looks to the stage that is still covered.

"I can't believe they're playing here! It's such a nostalgic blast from the past!" Parappa resumes bouncing up and down.

"For you maybe! We had to set up the after party in that run down old warehouse!" Matt says with slight disdain.

"None of us saw their concert live like you did!" Paula adds on.

"I accidentally ended up killing Lammy so I rather not remember that day…" PJ ends the chain as everyone simply stares at him.

"Haha that's hila-...wait...YOU WERE THE REASON SHE WENT TO HELL?!" Rammy's gaze emits a fiery glare that PJ can feel heavily. It feels as if it was burning his cotton skin off.

"E-Eheh...yeah now that I say that out loud...I guess I am responsible for that…" He gulps in heavy fear "I should start running now shouldn't I…" He closes his eyes "Actually, why bother I'm not in the shape to be able to outrun you so please try being a tiny bit gentle in manslaughtering me…." PJ awaits for the pain, but the pain does not come. When he finds the courage to open his eyes he simply sees a crying Rammy who holds on tightly to Parappa's hand for emotional stability. The other three were just there staring, unable to say anything. PJ wasn't hurt physically, but emotionally? He was destroyed. He's basically the reason she's in this mess at all! "I uh...i'm sorry...I know that really doesn't do much...but after only realizing that I'm technically the culprit of your...decaying state...it's all I can do…" He removes his shades and tucks them away into his shirt pocket "I...well...for what it's worth...you are free to...get revenge on me if you want to…"

"..."

"Yeah...I wouldn't want to talk to me either…" He sighs "I'm...gonna watch...separately if you don't mind." Before he can leave Rammy grabs his arm.

"It's...all good…" She wipes her face "So you were part of the reason. I guess I did already get back at you by slamming your head into the ground!...heh...and it's also not fair...you're a chill guy and that kinda makes it hard to get angry with you...kinda like with him…" She lifts up her hand, pulling Parappa up into the air "Even if I wanted to get back at you, I just couldn't bring myself to. And I'm not really that angry...mostly disappointed...in you, myself...a lot of things!" She taps her head with her knuckles "But not like I haven't learned from it this past month. If I managed to get over my feud with who I originally thought to be the culprit. I can certainly overlook it with the real culprit. Especially since I already got used to him."

"Heh...thanks." They shake hands as to break off the bad air. This action causes the remainder four to breathe a sigh of relief. As that happens the curtain rises to the sound of Leo's voice over the speakers.

" **HELLO EVERYBODY! Now I know a majority of you know me, and a majority don't. But that's not the point. For now, I am a nobody as a trio of somebodies will be performing for you all! A band of three you all should know very well!"** The curtains raise as the MIlkCan girls stand poised and ready to jam.

Katy speaks to the microphone in front of her "HELLO ONCE AGAIN PARAPPA TOWN! MAN DO WE MISS JAMMIN IN OUR HOMETOWN! ISN'T THAT RIGHT LADIES?" Both Ma-san and Lammy shout in their mikes.

" **YEAH!"**

"EXACTLY! NOW Y'ALL READY TO GROOVE?!" The love of their hometown is not missed at all as the roaring wave of fan love hits them instantly. Katy turns to Lammy "Just like back then. You ok?"

"Course I am! MilkCan's always on my mind. How else do I stay grounded away from my negative thoughts?"

("Cut the sap for after the show! We got eardrums to pop!")

"Don't gotta tell me twice! Ready girls?~"

" _ **LEAVE IT TO...MILKCAN!"**_ With the strike of each of their instruments, a wave of full on nostalgia hits every single person in the room. Everyone was organized in the exact same position as that fateful day.

"Heh...it really is just like that night." Parappa smiles "A night I'll never forget."

"Well yeah, how could you forget their first ever live performance?" Rammy says as she also smiles.

"No of course that's something I could never forget! That goes without saying! I was referring to another reason on why I'll never forget that day. It's also the first time I actually got to meet you."

"Gahhhh...you sappy dork…"

"I can't help it! Ever since we met again, that day has flooded the thoughts in my head! And if it weren't for that day. I probably wouldn't have gained the urge to find you and help you. So I will always be thankful of then, because I have you as a friend now!"

"Heh...I should punch you right in the mug man...seriously don't say things like that or my face will spring a leak again. Already had PJ make me cry, don't join him."

"I'm not doing it with ill intent you know!"

"I know." She smirks before tapping him on the head "But I can only handle so much gooeyness before even I keel over! Haha! Now come on. We got a show to enjoy!" she averts her attention to the playing band.

"That we do!" He gazes towards the trio as well.

Along with PJ and Sweety however.

"Do you see Matt or Paula?"

"Nope...lost them in the crowd...how about you Sweety, ya see Parappa and Rammy?"

"Same thing! Vanished into the mosh pit of people…"

"Ah bummer...hey...maybe we can use this time to explain to Leo that you're in on his secret."

"How do you plan on gaining his attention? He's transfixed on helping the girls! Not to mention he'll most likely say no to any chats currently and even after the show!"

"Good point...hm…"

"What are you thinking up?..."

"Well for this to work I need to make sure Parappa's attention is transfixed onto Katy…" He looks towards the band as he plucks out his shades and chucks the glasses towards Katy. They smack her square in the face as the land perfectly over her eyes. The crowd gasps as they wonder if she's alright, but she quickly resumes playing. PJ glances over to Leo who begins fritzing at the seems as he holds onto his helmet "Got it!..."

"What was the point of that?"

"This trick always works on Katy...and since he's currently Katy's son…" He pulls out a laser pointer from his shirt pocket and shines a red light in front of Leo.

"PJ dear that's not going to-" Leo immediately dives for the red dot as PJ moves it around "You have got to be kidding me…" Leo continuously chases after the dot that PJ moves away from the stage and towards a side room that's near him and Sweety. Once close, he shines the laser in the room and Leo dives in after it.

"HAHA! GOTCHA!" The door behind him shuts as the bears are now with him on the inside.

"And we got you!"

"Sorry Leo! That dot was PJ's idea!"

Leo's helmet emits a lollipop icon with the wrapper labeled 'Sucker' "HOW DID I MANAGE TO FALL FOR THAT?!"

"Katy always falls for it, so I assumed you would to if you were Kat Leo instead of Lamb Leo."

"UGH...What do you want…wait...DUDE DON'T SAY THAT IN FRONT OF HER-"

"She already knows."

"WHAT?! I SAID KEEP IT SECRET-"

"She figured it out on her own."

"HOW?!"

"Oh I just did a little digging and comparing is all! It was either you being a stalker, a super fan, or a relative! Options A and B didn't fit soooo...process of elimination!"

"Huh...I didn't realize it was that easy to figure out my identity...why didn't you come to talk to me about it?!" Leo's helmet emits an angry face.

"Well that would be rude! I would basically accuse you of being a stalker or super fan! I don't have it in me to call good people out like that…"

"Oh joy...the most sensible person to probably tell my secret to and she was too sensible to want to even try asking...Honestly you're way more aloof now than you are in the future."

"How am I like in the future?..."

"Much more stern, but I assume it's because you are a mother by then."

"I AM?! BOY OR GIRL? WHAT'S THEIR NAME? WHY DID WE NAME THEM THAT? HOW ARE THEY DOING?! IS PJ STILL ON HIS HEALTHY STREAK?!"

"What did the last one have to do with you wanting to know about our future kid Sweety?!..."

"Yes. Girl. Lacey. You named her that from the lace patterns all over her body. I have no idea, I haven't seen her in twelve years...and uh...I don't know...he's kinda...sleeping most of the time...and kinda eats a lot...but again...gone for twelve years so...no clue."

Sweety immediately fans her face to prevent herself from passing out from a mixture of emotions "Oh ohhh...Oooooooohhhhhhh…"

"H-Hey Auntie Sweetie calm d-down!..."

"I can't calm down now! You overloaded my head with such amazing things! And calling me Auntie did NOT help that!"

"You asked! That's not MY fault!...And I call all of you Auntie and Uncle..." He turns to PJ "UNCLE DO SOMETHING!"

"I have no control over her. Once she gets going there's little anyone can do to stop her." He shrugs "But that's not the only thing we wanted to ask.

"What is it now…"

"You think they'll get along today?..." Sweety calms down from hearing PJ ask this.

"That's right...He told me about the whole situation with Rammy and the other girls...they do get to be nice friends in the future right?"

"YES!...It's just...Katy's little choice to go into a mini tour almost messed that up...luckily the festival happened at a perfect time! As well as their option to want to make things right! Just like how it's supposed to happen! They become friends at the end of the month! I was so relieved you have no idea…"

"Are you SURE it'll go smoothly?"

"Uncle what could possibly go wrong to ruin this?"

"D-D-DON'T SAY THAT LINE! NEVER SAY 'WHAT COULD POSSIBLY WRONG' BECAUSE THEN THINGS GO WRONG!..."

"Oh you're overreacting. That's just a tall tale!" He walks towards the door "Look! Everything is fine. The girls are back here having the time of their lives playing. The others are having the time of their lives listening!" He opens the door "See?" He closes it "Any objections?"

"Well...no." He grumbles "But still...things always seem to go wrong when that's said...and knowing our track record...that's an add on…" He grabs his head and shakes it side to side "It's all too much stress on the mind!...I just want things to be alright…"

"They WILL be!"

"He has a point dear...so far nothings happened… Like he said, what could possibly go wrong?" Hearing his own girlfriend say this causes him to flinch in place "Oh come on now...you're letting this get to you! Fine...we'll wait it out in here if you're that neverous…"

"You two do that, I still have a job to do."

"Wait wait wait! Before you leave, may I see what's under your helmet?..."

Leo sighs "Well since you already know who I am…" He plucks his helmet off revealing his cat head "See?"

"Wow! It really is a near spitting image! Were it not for the tiny qualities from Parappa also intertwined with it!"

"Heh...I can explain more to you another time. For now I still got a lot to do!" He places the helmet on and leaves the room.

The two bears simply wait it out until PJ looks towards the door.

PJ sighs as he turns to Sweety "I don't get how you both can be so chill about this."

"Well he clearly knows how things go, besides it's not like HE could affect their friendship. The only one capable of screwing up right now is Parappa. And right now, that's clearly impossible for Parappa to do."

"Maybe you're right...I am letting this get to me…"

"Yes you are! There's nothing that will happen! Now let's enjoy the show PJ!"

"Alright alright...let's." The two head out to watch their friends and enjoy the night.

The trio playing glance down at the audience. Lammy scans the room in a specific spot and just like their first night here. She spots Parappa and Rammy next to each other, same as way back then. _They didn't know each other back then and that alone was terrifying if they were to accidentally come across each other...now they DO know each other...and that's its own can of worms. But I know things will be alright if I give her a chance!...what could possibly go wrong?..._

The musical performance by MilkCan comes to an end as the crowd starts disbanding after one more final round of cheer. Parappa and Rammy head over to an area mostly populated by food booths.

"You hungry?"

"Starvin. Didn't eat much at all today thanks to wearing this thing. I didn't want to many people seeing me wear this if they weren't distracted by something else."

"I still say it suits you ya badass babe!"

"Shut uuuuuuup"

"Haha, Alright alright. Whatcha wanna get?"

Rammy thinks about the options they would likely have "Hmm...how about hotdogs on a stick? Think they have any here?"

"Ohhh a classic! I'm sure there's gotta be a booth sellin em! Nothing beats a good weiner."

"Pffft...don't word it like that."

"Whatcha me-...oh...HEY!..." He starts fluttering his fists onto her arm.

"Not my fault you don't think before you speak!"

"You're the one who brought up hotdogs though!"

"Still can't blame me for that!" Parappa stops his little assault.

"Fine...let's just go see if we can find anyone selling them." As they head off and check the booths they find one with Noodle's running it "NOODLE'S! Whatcha doing here?"

"I think it should be as clear as day my man." He points to the sign on his booth "Selling both noodles and burgers here. Speaking of which mind passing your dad my thanks? He was a lifesaver in fixing my dads machines!"

"Will do man! Say you know if a booth around here has hot dogs?"

"Whoa man, don't know any of the sort. Pretty sure you're gonna need to go on a dating website for that."

"NOT THAT TYPE OF HOT DOG!" Parappa buries his face in his beanie as Rammy drops on the ground laughing.

Back with the girls and Leo who are packing up. PJ and Sweety walk up to the four.

"Yo Leo."

"Hm? What's up."

"Sweety wants to chat with you."

"I said I wouldn't have the time. I'm busy helping them."

"I'll take over."

"Noooo. I can manage."

"To late. Give me that." PJ plucks the objects out of Leo's hands.

"Hey! Just because you can hold more things doesn't mean you'll work better! You won't put the things away as fast as I can!"

"All I need is a lil motivation."

"Where are you gonna get that?"

Katy spots PJ and immediately gets angry "HEY! PJ! WHY THE HELL DID YOU THROW YOUR SUNGLASSES AT MY FACE?!"

"Right there." PJ books it as Katy chases after him followed by Lammy and Ma-san leaving Leo annoyed.

"Well then...guess I'm chatting with you Auntie." They both head off to the room they were in prior "Alright Auntie what is it…want to know more about your future family I take? I can't really say that much cuz of time rules and the fact that I missed out on a lot of-"

"Can you tell me who your real mother is?" She asks with the most determined face.

"What...no why?"

"Well I'm gonna be your guaranteed Aunt! And you can trust me that I'll keep it to myself!"

"Still no!..."

"Do you not trust me?..."

"It's not that it's just...i'm scared that I might ruin her chances in the long run…"

"I'll help her!"

"NO!... When Parappa and my mom got together it was by their own means...no help from any outside source...and I wanna keep it that way…"

"But as you said things are starting to get a bit wavy in how it's going now. Right? What if a different girl is the one who wins in the end?"

"...Egh...you're...not wrong...but…"

"I won't help, but if I see that she's starting to lose...you can't really blame me for WANTING to ensure you keep your canonical mother. Right?"

"I guess...where did this urgency come from?"

"Well once you told me about my future… I started thinking. I instantly got into the mother instinct just from the thought alone. How was Katy when you informed her?"

"She instinctual tried being a mother…"

"What about Rammy?"

"Her aggression lowered tremendously. And one thing they both did was use their motherly status to bend me to their will." Sweety laughs at that fact.

"Well...you see? What I'm getting at is...A mother wouldn't want to lose their child would they? Just like a child wouldn't want to lose them as well."

"I know...but i'm not my canonical mother's son yet...so I don't why they feel they urge to be that way...it's all so weird…"

"It's just a heart thing. There's a long complicated way of explaining, but that's the short version. A matter of the heart, a matter of the love. Regardless of time period. It's clearly still there."

"...Alright...but tell no one alright?...Not even PJ…"

"I won't!" Leo leans in and whisper to her who his true mother is, Sweety immediately gasps in joy "Haha! I had hopes it would be her!"

"Did you now? Heh...well she is my mom."

"I'm glad! And like I said, I won't do anything unless her chances of being your mom start feigning."

"Thank you."

"Now...what's your real name. I can't imagine it's Leo Steps. That's just a...tacky name…"

"Well gee...sorry I came up with it when I was fifteen...but you're right it's not...My names Europa Rappa. However I would appreciate if you would still refer to me as Leo regardless." He takes his helmet off "Europa is as good as dead. And who took on from there had to be someone who needed to do whatever it took to ensure his mission wouldn't be a failure. That became the new Europa. Leo. Only PJ and a few others knows my real name and he also knows not to say it. Not even to anyone else who already knows my secret. It's best that in case everyone of you figure me out that I stay Leo. Got it?"

"Crystal clear. Quite sad though...by the way PJ mentioned that...you stop changing if you fail your mission...care to explain that?..."

"Well since you already know who my mom is. If I end up permanently looking like my real form. That means the timeline is no longer connected. My future becomes an alternate reality and this timeline will have its own future. My efforts will have been in vain and...well...my future will never change...I'll save my dad of today...but not my dad of my time…"

"How can we tell that you stopped changing for real and it's not just Parappa subliminally thinking of her for that long?"

"Well...imagine he doesn't have my mom in mind. Like he's super transfixed on say...Rammy. But I appear in my real body...that's a clear indicator that I stopped changing…Heh...it's always so terrifying whenever I change...because I'm always on edge with 'Oh god...did it finally disconnect?...' whenever I turn into my canonical body...I always panic...and then I change again and I end up relieved…but only for a small bit..."

"That must be so stressful…"

"You have no idea...I never know if and when it'll happen...I'm always doing my best to prevent it...this entire ordeal with Rammy nearly tore my heart in half...I didn't change as much!...I'm just lucky it'll all finally blow over today…" He sighs as he collapses onto his knees "I'm just so stressed…twenty four seven..." Sweety places her arm on his head and simply strokes his hair in a calming manner.

Back with PJ and the girls. Ma-san and Lammy are trying to pry Katy off of him.

"K-KATY!...S-STOP I'M SURE HE DIDN'T M-MEAN IT!..."

("WHAT...SHE SAID!...DAMMIT DID YOU BURY YOUR CLAWS IN HIM? WHY THE HELL IS IT SO HARD TO PULL YOU OFF!...")

"I SAID I WAS SORRY!...OWOWOWOWOW...STOP YOUR GONNA TEAR OFF MY X PATCHES!..."

Katy angrily grunts as she hops off of the teddy bear "Fine...next time you think about pelting me with your glasses in the middle of me playing...DON'T."

"Duly noted...ow…" He gets back up in pain "Owowowow...mutilating me aside...it IS nice to see the three of you again."

"Yeah...I may...have been a tad impulsive in just...up and signing us off…"

("A tad?!")

"Listen. Me and Lammy realized our mistakes and came here to try and make up for it. Don't add to our own ineptitude."

Ma-san throws her arms up ("Whatever. I'm out. Gonna go play a dart game.") She walks off leaving the three to carry on.

"Feh...rude. But...she's right...we were pretty...much…"

"S-Stupid…"

"But we learned that and decided to head back and apologize! Luckily the perfect place to do so was right here in our own hometown!"

"I'll say." PJ rubs the scratch marks on his belly "Well...isn't there two specific people you two need to speak with first?"

"I-I know! T-That's what I'm gonna d-do now!" Lammy runs off.

"As for me...I'm...gonna wait on that until Lammy's done her piece."

"Why not do it together?"

"Well...I mainly wanna talk to you about some things."

"That would be?..."

"I told Lammy that I also love the guy…"

"Ah...well...this will be a long chat...carry on."

As we return with Parappa and Rammy, they finally managed to find a booth selling the food item they wanted "Honestly, what's with everyone and assuming that just because i'm a dog, that whenever I ask for that specific food item they think I'm looking to mingle! They all know my first sweetheart was a daisy! So they should expect as much extraordinary factors from me…"

"I mean...wouldn't you take a jab at that joke if it walked right up to you and asked?"

"Didn't think about it like that...but still no! I don't have in me to be that distasteful!"

"I can tell." Rammy takes a bite out of her snack "Truth be told. You should probably fix that and get an upgraded sense of humor."

"Whaaaat? I'm already a funny enough guy as is!"

"Well you never know what you'll need to draw in a crowd."

"I'm an unparalleled rapper! I don't need to rely on jokes! Besides there's a lot more to me that can appeal to anyone!" He starts twirling his hotdog on a stick "I'm a lot more diverse and dexterous then you know!" The food item slips out of his fingers and flies up into the air "M-My hotdog!..." as he looks up to see where it went, it flies directly into his face, splattering ketchup and mustard over his eyes "GAAAAAH! CONDIMENTS IN THE EYES! IT BURNS!..."

"Whoa whoa! Hold on lemme get that for you!..." She approaches the panicking dog as he flails about aimlessly "Hey!...hold still!...i'm trying to help you here!..."

"Hold still?! This is incredibly painful!..."

"I'm TRYING to stop that! Now come on...get on your tiptoes so I can wipe your face easier Don't wanna bend over. " Parappa does as ordered, but he is still to short for her to reach with ease "Ugh...why are you so short...alright…" She bends over to properly clean the condiments that are splattered all over his eyes and the rest of his face.

Lammy manages to find the area where she saw the two originally head off to. She wanders around until she manages to spot the duo. However…

"Hey...did you hear the sound of glass breaking?..." A man with a tuba for a head states to his pal.

"Yeah...and it sounded painful…" A man with a rice cooker for a head replies.

Now from a proper perspective, it would be obvious to tell that Rammy was cleaning Parappa's face off. But from Lammy's angle, her point of view was different. She only saw what appeared to be Parappa and Rammy, kissing each other. And with that, her heart broke. It shattered into a million pieces. Lammy didn't want to see anymore. She ran. Ran away crying. Not wanting to deal with anything anymore. Katy, PJ and Ma-san spot her running as far away from the festival as fast and far as her legs could manage. They saw the tears streaming down her face and immediately ran off after her.

"L-LAMMY!..."

("H-HEY WAIT UP LAMBS!...")

"Parappa...what the hell did you do now…" PJ angrily sighs as he runs after Lammy with the other two.

As Leo and Sweety stayed within their moment Leo collapses fully onto the ground. His body spastically changing between all his body types as he clutches his heart "AGH..."

"E-Europa?..."

"W-What's...happening...to me…" the area around him starts swirling with static as he struggles to get back to his feet "My body...it all burns...it's like...i'm being pulled apart…" Sweety dismisses the threat of the electricity as she grabs onto him and helps him back up. She bites down as the electrical pain he was dealing with transfers over to her "Stop...you'll only...get hurt in...the process…"

"I don't care about that now!...What's happening?!..."

"I...think the timeline...is on...the verge of disconnecting...no...what happened…" The static distortions stop as Leo struggles to maintain his stance on his own. He stops changing as he finally regains his balance "It...finally stopped...wait...WAIT...W-WHO DO I LOOK LIKE?!..."

"C-Calm down!...you're not your real body!...The timeline is still alright!..."

"W-What happened?!...W-Why did that happen?!...W-What's going on…" Leo drops to his knee as he grabs his head in pain, he begins crying on the spot "T-Things were supposed to go right today...why didn't they go right...why didn't they…" Sweety immediately hugs the crying mess.

"I-It's gonna be fine!...the timeline is still fine...they'll manage!...You'll manage...I know things will be alright in the end...it's just...gonna take a little while longer now…"

 _ **Day 46 with Rammy…**_

 _What do you do...when your hearts broken...and there's nothing to put it back together with?...I don't have it in me...to play my guitar this time..._


	20. The simple things in life

"Lammy...wake up...girl do you not sleep at your house?...ugh...I should fire you, but Katy would just rehire you…" Niles crosses his arms after giving up on trying to wake the lamb up.

Lammy opens her eyes weakly, no motivation to wake up whatsoever "Sorry Niles…"

"What in the name of music happened to you?...these past two weeks you've look as if you've been mugged in a dark alley then tossed into a grinder…"

"H-Honestly...that's probably a better f-fate than what actually h-happened…"

"Girl look at me. Look. At. Me." Lammy begrudgingly obliges "What do you see?"

"A-A blue and pink m-mosaic stained g-glass man yelling at m-me…"

"Smart ass little...no. What's engrave in my body?"

Lammy groans, clearly not wanting to deal with this "It says 'learn to leave all the problems behind'...sorry N-Niles...but that doesn't really apply to me...because I can't really...leave any of this behind…"

"And why the hell not? What on earth could have affected you so much that you end up like this?...Your meek exterior aside, you're usually a hardened gal of rock and roll!"

"You wouldn't get it..."

"Ohohohoho...Try me."

"Sorry boss...but the answer is s-still n-"

"It's a boy isn't it."

"..."

"Oh for the love of...what is wrong with the youth of today I swear…" He rests his fingers on his forehead before looking back towards her "Alright, out with it. Who is it and what did he do."

"Why would I t-tell you?"

"Well for starters your current state of being is not only affecting your working standards, but you look like you just got out of a pigsty!"

'Gee...t-thanks…" She slams her head down onto the counter.

"Cut that out, I want to try and help you so you can return back to your...slightly less upset self."

"Ugh...it's...a friend...who I a-always wished could be...just more than a friend...but he seems to h-have fallen...for my d-double…" a puddle of tears manifest under her face as she still keeps it pressed to the counter "I can't say I don't deserve it...I did p-push him away and ran from my problems...and because I d-didn't opt to fix it...I guess I lost him to her as well as any progress towards asking him myself I may have had…"

"Oh woman up!" He peels her face off the counter. Her makeup is smeared off from her tears as she looks like a flat out mess "Ew…" He lets go as her head drops back down.

"Ow…"

"Whoops...my apologies…" He wipes his hand clean with a tissue, he then places the entire box next to her "Said friend wouldn't happen to be the rapping dog our town is well known for would it?"

"The v-very same...man people can r-read me like a book…" She gets up as she begins plucking tissues from the box to clean her face off with.

"What a mess. Honestly I was never a fan of his work, but I'd be a liar if I didn't call him endearing enough to grow on me." He grunts " _He_ is the reason you're upset? The guy doesn't seem like he could upset anyone…"

"He kinda made out with my doppelganger…signifying they fell in love...on the night of my return...that's...kinda a big kick in the stomach…It shows that he got by pretty well while we were gone..."

"This sounds like it needs more context...did you talk to EITHER of them during the two weeks you spent moping?"

"Zilch...couldn't bring it in myself...I just ran and ran...to my old apartment...it was still vacant and so I decided to go there for the time being…"

"How long is the time being?"

"Forever…"

"My god you remind me of my sister…how annoying…"

"Niles…"

"What?"

"What do you do...when your hearts broken...and there's nothing to put it back together with?..."

"Well naturally I fully break being a man of glass an all that. So if one thing breaks, so does the rest. So because of that, I become hardy, not to let things scratch me up at all. Any frailty means it all comes crumbling down if you make a single mistake. Of course that probably makes me a hardass, but I could care less. Now naturally this way of living isn't for everyone. So MY personal advice towards repairing that broken piece of yours is...do what you always do. Rock out on a guitar."

"I don't have it in me...to play my guitar this time…"

"Oh joy you're really serious about this...how sad...agh...if only Katy didn't call out for the day...she'd probably be better at handling this than I can!..."

"I'm...k-kinda the reason as to why she didn't want to come in…"

"Oh great...so she has no idea what to do. I never thought I'd have to put my foot down in manner of being soft on an employee but I guess there's always a chance for everything...Alright...explain the full on scenario. Your emotions. The emotions you feel emanating off the mutt and black ewe."

"Why…"

"I have a few ideas for a solution. But to single it out. I want to pinpoint the exact room I have to read in order to come to that conclusion. As in from when this ALL started."

"...K."

As the explanation went forth, nearly two blocks down two construction workers were loading up a truck.

"Say man, the back door of this truck seems a little loose. You shake to much and you'll lose your cargo. Think we should do something about that?"

"It'll be fine man! Besides we're in a hurry, we don't really have the time to fix it right now." He starts inputting something on his phone.

"Whatcha doin now?"

"Setting the location we gotta go to into the GPS inside the thing!"

"Why? We know where to go."

"Man did you forget that this truck is from the newer models...the ones were they can drive themselves? All I gotta do is set the spot while we're inside and it drives on it's own! We just moderate to see it doesn't do anything stupid. Watch I'll show ya."

"Wait but shouldn't we be inside first-" The truck begins rushing off on its own as he drives down the street wildly and out of control "That uh...doesn't seem good."

"You're telling me…"

"What you set the coordinates to?"

"I didn't finish...I just typed in PaRappa Town…"

"But we're already here...and it's still going...you don't think that things gonna wildly drive around the whole town constantly until it runs out of fuel right?"

"Now you know we both know the answer to that, but I'm gonna be the optimist and say that, that might not be the case."

"That's fair, we're less liable that way." He lifts his hard hat and scratches his hair "Say uh...with that thing moving crazily as it is...won't it end up losing the steel beams we put in it?...Cuz of the faulty back door?"

"We only put three, but still you're right. And to that I say, we didn't see or do anything."

"Roger that man." The two quickly hightail it out of there.

* * *

"LEO!...Open up...I need your help with this…" Katy repeatedly bangs on the door of Club Rainbow, but no response "Come on...please...son…"

"I take it you didn't read the 'Closed until further notice' sign on your drive here?"

"W-Wha?!...Oh...PJ...and Sweety?..."

"Yes I'm in on it to...heh…" _Hell I know more than the two of you...but I promised not to tell…_ "Also not to upset you or anything, but so is Ra-"

"I know...Rammy also knows…"

"Oh?...Leo told you?..."

"Nope...she told me herself."

"Ah...I'm actually surprised that-" Sweety flinches at being cut off again.

"We talked at all?...Well...after the initial few days it wasn't exactly like that, hell before we left for this tour we finally started talking...only...for things to go south immediately...When we came back to try and make things right...things just got more or more wrong. Were it not for Parappa and Rammy explaining the whole thing along with a few witnesses in the area…yikes."

"I'm in the same boat, I tried to contact you over the explanation, but you never answered mine or Sweety's calls…Parappa came to us on his to explain it the very next day." PJ tilts his head "So then the whole kiss scenario...does LAMMY know the truth of the matter?..."

"Not a one...and she won't even TALK to the two...and she won't even listen to me let alone BELIEVE me if I ever manage to get the word in...or anyone for that matter. Ma-san, Paula and Matt can't even reach her...she only pops in to work, but just stays silent…after that...POOF...she's gone for the day again..."

"This is such a headache inducer...you know I figured Rammy would be here trying to get help as well seeing as the air between you two is moderately cleared…"

"She's kinda...busy with Ma-san in trying to convince Parappa that there's still a silver lining…"

"Crap...right...this entire thing is probably _murdering_ him...but i'm just happy he hasn't relapsed…" PJ sighs as he clutches his heart "I'm honestly worried how long he's gonna hold out for…"

"No kidding...my heart has been killing me all the while these past two weeks…"

Sweety frowns as she stares at the two of them. The sight reminds her of Europa's breakdown as he started dissolving at the seams. Clutching his heart in pain. _If they feel this much pain...I can only imagine how he's feeling…_ Sweety clutches her own heart "Hey Katy...how did you and Rammy get to erm...see eye to eye?..."

Katy sighs as she throws her arms behind her head "Well to call it a peaceful bond would be a lie since I nearly tried to claw her eyes out...once the truth came out though and even more explanations of the time while we were gone...I progressively started feeling more and more like an asshole…" she hugs herself "I realized I was the bitch I was making her out to be...and it...wasn't a fun realization…It went down like this…"

* * *

" _K-KATY STOP IT!..."_ Parappa struggles to keep Katy restraint and away from Rammy, who simply stands stationary, not even trying to defend herself.

" _STOP? HAHA OF COURSE I'LL STOP!...ONCE I TEAR HER TO PIECES!..."_

" _I'D RATHER THAT NOT HAPPEN THANK YOU VERY MUCH…"_

" _THEN WOULD YOU RATHER TAKE HER PLACE?! BECAUSE I'M PISSED AT THE_ _ **BOTH**_ _OF YOU CURRENTLY."_

" _WHY?!..."_

" _YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHY!"_

" _NO...WE DON'T...CARE TO FILL US IN FOR WHAT WE AREN'T AWARE OF?"_

" _YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT YOU DID!"_

" _BUT WE CLEARLY DON'T...WHAT GOT YOU SO ANGRY?"_

 _("You know, as mad as I am at them as well, you could at least explain your anger to see if they have an explanation for it.")_ Ma-san turns red from anger _("Not like any excuse is WORTH listening to, but eh…")_

" _I don't even know what happened...did you guys only come back to just complain about me further?...gah my eyes still sting…"_ Rammy doesn't speak up, but hands a napkin towards him " _Thanks…now come on and tell me what happened…"_

The accusation came swiftly and landed on them like a brick to the head, this finally got Rammy to speak up " _YOU SAY WE DID WHAT?!..."_

" _You heard me. And it got to Lammy, which in turn got to me, Ma-san and PJ…"_

" _That's complete and utter fallacy! Me and Parappa did nothing of the sort!...I was busy cleanin his face cuz he tried showing off and got hit in the face with his own hotdog! I tried getting the ketchup and mustard off!"_

" _I can attest to that...my eyes still sting...and will probably smell like a fast food restaurant for about a week…"_

" _I'm not buying that!...you two clearly could've made that up!"_

" _But we didn't! Why would I make up something like that!"_

 _("Mutt, that sounds supremely ridiculous to be fact.")_

" _Now while you make a great point there, the fact still remains that we're telling the truth!..."_

The argument goes back and forth between both sides, eventually people start crowding around to which they have to cease in order to get them all to back off.

" _This is getting us nowhere, just ADMIT to what you did and we can just end this with much less retaliation…"_

" _Why the hell would we admit to something we didn't do?...Like seriously...even in hell we gather evidence before we hecticly perform the blame game…"_

" _And where do you plan on getting evidence huh?! We're out in the goddamn open! Now like you have a camera that caught everything!"_

" _No...but we do have something better! Witnesses!"_

" _Oh for the love of…"_

 _("As mundane as it may be, mutt has a point. With all these people around, their story has an alibi.)_

" _...Alright! Who can you attest to being a witness!"_

" _That's simple. We go to where the food booths were. EVERYONE saw my...rather unfortunate accident…"_

" _Calling that an unfortunate accident is really pushing it on the boundaries of guilt…"_

" _I'M REFERRING TO HITTING MYSELF IN THE FACE WITH A HOTDOG AND NEARLY BLINDING MYSELF…"_

" _Mhm…"_ Both Katy and Ma-san stare at him and Rammy with little remorse.

" _Just...come on…"_

They all head towards the section where the alleged accusation took place. And Katy immediately retorts " _Alright. We're here, now go gather your 'witnesses' so that we can end this lie once and for a-"_

" _Yeah saw him get hit in the face with his own hotdog. Didn't think anyone would ever be that dumb."_

" _Oh hey! It's the dope who nearly took his eyes out!"_

" _How dumb can you be? Didn't your parents ever tell you not to play with your food?"_

" _Ouch man. Saw the whole thing happen and all I could do was feel bad...and laugh...like a lot…"_

" _Yeah I saw his dumb accident. But he should look on the brightside. His eyes are now temporarily yellow and red! He can use that as a distraction from that fact that he ended up hitting himself in the face!"_

" _I am so sorry that you have to deal with him on a daily basis…"_ The last witness pats Rammy on her shoulder as both Parappa and Rammy turn towards Katy and Ma-san with their arms crossed.

" _How's that for evidence?"_ They say in unison.

" _..."_

 _("...")_

" _Thought so…"_

" _But L-Lammy saw-"_

 _("S-She said it was you two-")_

" _Way of...g-getting back at...us…"_ As they say this in unison they are simply staring at remorseless faces similar to how they stared at Parappa and Rammy. The instant karma was not fun.

" _As you can see. We told the truth and didn't do the sort...Lemme guess...my double saw us doing...this pose…"_ Rammy grabs Parappa as to reenact the pose.

" _H-Heh...yeah...that's what she described…"_

 _("D-Down to the money...oh boy...Lambs was at a bad angle to see what actually happened...Great…")_

" _Where is she? I wanna clear up this mess…"_

" _We...don't know...once she told us everything she just ran again...and by then we lost her...I...really doubt she's gonna be going back to our home for the time being…"_

" _WHAT?!...B-But!..."_

 _("Look man...while we now know what really happened...you gotta understand that what Lammy saw and felt probably isn't gonna go away as easily as just explaining it...Hell I don't even think you'll GET to explain it…")_

" _Or if she'll believe you…"_

 _("Luckily...we do now, at the very least right?...")_

" _...Yeah...that's...true I guess…"_ Rammy glances at Parappa as his condition deteriorates at a rapid pace, instinctually trying to ease him up.

" _Come on man. My double may be a mess from time to time, but she comes through in the end doesn't she? I'm sure she'll wanna chat with you again in no time! I'm sure once this is all cleared up you'll just laugh it off in the future! And you know that's true given her track record that I KNOW you've kept up with. Am I right or am I right?"_

" _Heh...yeah...yeah you're right. I guess I should put that into perspective, but it's just such a big mess that keeps getting bigger…"_ He shakes his head " _But you're absolutely right with how Lammy is. I just...hope it is soon…"_

" _Atta boy. Look. Right now with Lammy gone on the...well...lamb. You just go and try to enjoy yourself at this here festival to not get anymore upset. Today's the day they finally came back right? We just got into a little mix up that will cease before you know it. Now go out there and enjoy yourself! If not for your own sake then for mine!"_

" _R-Roger!"_ He hightails it away from them. Katy and Ma-san stare at Rammy in disbelief.

" _How…?"_

 _("And so easily no less…")_

" _I got to know him as much as he got to know me. He was there when I wouldn't let anyone else be...and he really helped me out...I wanna be there for him whenever he needs help...always…You told me of how bad a state he was in prior...Like hell I'll let him get to that point again."_ She places her hands behind her back as she looks over towards where Parappa ran off to " _I'd do a lot for that little guy you know?..."_

" _..."_ Katy swallows roughly from guilt " _...Hey Rammy?..."_

" _What."_

" _I'm...sorry...for everything…"_

" _Much appreciated...but...I'm not the only person you should apologize to."_

" _I know that...and...one more thing…"_

" _I've already accepted you as a friend. Since before you even left on your elongated tour."_

" _B-But I was a complete and utter bitch to you!"_

" _Yeah. You were. Fucking hurt. But shit happens and you had your reasons. Do I agree with them? Fuck no."_ She nods " _But I mean given the shit i've done? I'm in no position to criticize. Just...no more catfighting? Pardon my pun."_ She extends her hand.

" _..."_ Katy looks towards Ma-san.

 _("Don't look at me. I've been her friend. I've acknowledged I fucked up. She knows I'm sorry for it. This is all on you now and what you decide to reply with.")_ She casually walks away from the duo. She sighs then turns her head to them _("Although I will apologize for not trying to have a bigger say on the matter. Had I spoken up a bit more I probably could've prevented all this...or made it worse...who knows. All I do know is that it's time to stop. I'm like that mutt, tired of conflictions that last more than they need to. So if you don't mind. I'll do what he's doing and enjoy the remainder of the day while I still can…")_ She calmly walks away into the crowd.

Katy looks back to Rammy before frowning " _...I feel like this isn't enough...to make up for the shit I piled on the two...three...ALL of you…"_

" _Maybe not…"_ she scratches her nose " _But fuck it, it's good enough for me!"_ She smiles, her time with Parappa had truly rubbed off on her as her smile is slightly glimmering. The action causes Katy to tear up a bit before grabbing her hand and shaking it " _Heh...see. In the end, Leo was right."_ Rammy's words caused the poor saddened cat to flinch " _Oh yeah...probably should mention to you as well that I'm in on it to…"_

* * *

"And well...that's what happened…"

"That explains why Parappa didn't try explaining it to the rest of us on that very same day...he was trying to keep cheery...gotta thank Rammy for that one…"

"You and me both…" She wipes a stray tear from her face "The following days I just heard more and more things of what Rammy's been ACTUALLY doing rather than what I _thought_ she was doing...Helped Parappa at his cafe...Saved Matt from an emergency room visit...so much!...and well...I don't know...I'm currently a mess after realizing what I put her through...and it doesn't help that she's just...OK with it...but yeah...Leo was right...she is a sweetheart...heh...who knew…"

"Well...since he was right on that front...maybe he has a way to help us out of this?..."

"I...don't know about that dear...after all Leo kinda vanished on you all after that whole ordeal don't you remember?..."

"That is true, but I thought it was just to think of something..."

"Maybe you're right, but all I know is. He must be feeling as down as you all. Wherever he currently is…" The trio sigh until Katy glances at the view of the rest of Neon Heights from where they're positioned.

"..." She stares at the enormous building "Hey you two…"

"Yeah?..."

"What is it?"

"Follow me will ya? If he ain't here. He's either trying to keep himself cheery in Neon Heights or is probably sulking in his apartment. We won't figure that out if we stay here doing nothing!..." The duo nod as they rush towards PJ's car "First off, to the hectic place he calls a home!..." She heads to her van and immediately floors it, the bears following suit.

* * *

"So that's it huh?"

"Yeah…" Lammy tosses the last of the tissues into the garbage "I don't know if I should deal with him or not…"

"Well that's up to you personally. After all I can only assume you're...still acquaintances correct?..."

"I don't know…after this he probably doesn't think of me as such…"

"Well. That aside, I did manage to think up a solution to your downard state!"

"I'm all ears I guess...w-whatever makes the pain go away...or at the very l-least...hurt a lot less..."

"The answer is to listen to music!"

"And now my e-ears as no longer listening…"

"Listen you little smartass...I'm serious. Believe it or not. Music usually does soothe the mind when in situations like this! Why do you think people who suffered break ups, lost a loved one or are just plain miserable always listen to music?"

"...Alright there's s-some truth to that...ok...l-lay it on me…"

"Well the reason I asked you for the full synopsis was to pinpoint what would be the best to get you out of your slump. I had a full group of songs in mind from different artists that are usually the perfect ones to listen to in a scenario like this. As you explained I was able to pinpoint down a better song! And now I know the exact one you gotta hear!" He enters his back room "Now where is it...Over here? No that's a different genre...right here? No...that's a different time period...Here?...No I don't even know why I have this…" Things start to fly out of the room "Where is it? I could've sworn I had it...gah...maybe I am a bit of a pack rat hoarder...Wait!...Here it is!...No...wait...feh...it'll have to do."

"That's a perfect thing to hear when needing h-help…" Lammy rolls her eyes.

"I heard that…" NIles leaves the room and walks up to Lammy with a CD case in his hands "Alright. This is the song. At least the instrumental of it." He hands it to Lammy.

"What's this?..."

"It's a song called erm...what was it...well the point is this is the song! Well...the music of the song. The vocals version is nowhere to be found...I could've sworn I had it in my personal bought collection but no...perhaps I left it at my home or it's just buried under all the other songs! But I don't have the time or patience to look."

"Why don't I just look up the song?..."

"Oh that's impossible."

"Whyyyy?..." She glances at the CD case to see a familiar person. It was Leo alongside a backup holo clone, their helmets however were rather different. The clones was gold while the real one was silver "This song's from Leo?..."

"Yep! And what I meant was that it's literally impossible to hear! It was only sung live once, but no one was allowed to record it. And when it came out on cd, only a really REALLY limited amount were made...so good luck finding that...I was one of the lucky patrons, but alas I can't find THAT version…" he facepalms "I really need to organize my things better, but woe is me! The point is that what you described about your past leading into today, fits the bill on the feeling of the song! Why it's almost as if the song was MADE for you! And that's the best part of music, It almost always is! Except this one is more so!"

"It c-can't really be that good or helpful…"

"Girl, the instrumental alone should be enough to get into your very soul to trigger some recovery vibes."

"Let me give i-it a go then…" She pops the CD into a player nearby as she plugs in some headphones and awaits for the music to begin once they're in her ears "Wow...silence...if t-this is a joke Niles it's certainly n-not fu-" Lammy stops once the soft yet entrancing melody begins to play. It sounded futuristic yet spacey...and all the while it was as Niles said. She felt slightly more calm then she did the past few weeks and could only stare into the distance from sheer enthrallment towards the song. It left her speechless as towards what exactly she was feeling. "Wow…" Is all she could manage to say.

"Mmmmmhmmmmmmmm." Niles smiled in a pompous manner as Lammy simply turned the volume up to continue listening.

* * *

"Good day and welcome to the town's pride and joy and why we got the namesake Heights! Oh! You're that girl that was with Leo that other day! You here to visit him?"

"Uh..yeah! Me and a few other friends of his are here to see how he is."

"Well that's good. He kinda holed himself up. Hasn't really gone down the main exit. But I assume he has left the building...probably not on my shift, but I can't tell! Surely you'll be able to help him out?"

"We'll see what we can do, won't we guys?"

"Of course!"

"Yeah, and maybe he can help us out of our own problem in return." Katy and Sweety elbow PJ in the gut "ACK...yes yes...him first…"

The trio walk up to the elevator before being stopped by Katy "Now with proper knowledge of this thing, I gotta warn you to hang on tight. As well as ask you both. Neither of you ate much did you?"

"Whyyyyy?" They say in concerned unison.

"Answer the question."

"Well I didn't...but he's another story…" as this is said Katy pulls out a paper bag and hands it to PJ.

"Wha-"

"Make sure you keep as far away from me and Sweety as possible."

"...Katy this is an elevator…"

"You won't be saying that for long…" the trio head on in and up they go. The screams lasted about as long as the launch itself. Once on the top floor, the doors open, and the trio peel off from the ceiling of the elevator. They hobble out in nausea as they stop by a wall to regain balance and ease on their stomachs.

"What...the everloving...hell was...that…" PJ says as he tries to catch his breath from fear.

"I...think my...organs got rearranged...on the way up…" Sweety dizzily feels around her stomach and chest.

"I...told you...to hold on tight…" Katy covers her mouth for a second before sighing and resuming "Ugh...I didn't eat at all this morning and I still felt like I was gonna vomit something out…PJ how the hell did you manage?..."

"Oh I didn't, I just didn't open my mouth and had to forcibly swallow it back down...twice…"

"Ew...could've gone without knowing that…"

"You asked." He shrugs "But that aside. Leo lives on the top floor right?"

"Yeah...only room on this floor to."

"That's both nice and sad...Get to have the highest floor of a lovely place all to yourself...but be alone in the process...plus he has to deal with that death machine of an elevator…" As he turns around the sun peers in through the hallway window "GAH...What the hell?...I thought this town couldn't GET sunlight…"

"He's at the top floor. Literally so high up that all he gets to SEE is sunlight."

"That just adds another reason towards the sadness!..." PJ pulls out two extra sunglass and hands them to Sweety and Katy "Even WITH these on it still to bright…"

"Let's just head on in." Katy walks up to the door and begins knocking on it "Leeeeoooo! You in there?...Open up!..." Silence is her only reply. Then they hear minor shuffling from behind the door.

"Go awaaaaay."

"Hey you can't just tell your mother to go away!..."

"You're not my mom yeeeeeet…hell you're probably not the one who'll be my mom."

"There's a chance! And that's all I need to talk sense into you!"

Sweety nearly chokes up. _Well...that didn't take long...it would make most sense for her...but I wonder how the others would react if they saw they had a chance? How would they treat Europa?_

"My reply stays the same. Go awaaaaaay…"

Katy takes a deep breath and walks away from the door. PJ notices and immediately speaks up "What. You're just gonna give up that easily?..." Katy stops after she reaches a certain distance and turns back towards the door "Oh…uh oh…" Katy braces her shoulder as she charges for the door. Upon impact the door flies away and knocks Leon off his bed and onto the ground.

"GACK…" He gets up and rubs his head before turning towards Katy "I'll have you know this is an invasion of privacy!"

"I'm your mother. I respect your privacy, but I have to insert my parental dominance by coming in anyway."

"One fifth mother…"

She stares at him, he's currently a mouse "Despite the fact that you look like Ma-san's son. You're still mine to me!"

"I've been swapping between Ma-san and Rammy only these days…"

"Yeah that's thanks to them trying to keep your dad as chipper as he can get. You could use some of that help as well."

"Ugh...what do you want…"

"What WE want-" PJ and Sweety walk on in "Is to get your assistance with-"

"I can't help with the Lammy/Rammy thing."

"What do you mean?..."

"I've done my part to aid both you AND them and look what happened. I ain't intervening anymore...my body can't handle it."

"Well in all honesty...he does have a point Katy…" PJ motions his hand in a motion to imply 'there's only so much one can do before failure hits hard.'

"But it's my fault because I ASKED you to meddle!...Surely you can think of someway to fix this!...How'd it go in the actual way it was supposed to go down?"

"Lammy and Rammy got along on their own accord with slight help. After a full month since her arrival, but now we're a month and A HALF past that...They supposedly saw eye to eye after Parappa and you set up something, but neither of you ever told me what it was...so I'm at a standstill there…"

"Can't you think of anything?!..."

"Look currently I can't think up of anything period. My mental state has deteriorated far more the past month than what i've suffered the entirety of my twelve years. Trying to think about anything just gives me a migraine...I'm just way to out of it…"

Sweety walks up "What if we...cheered you up and calmed you down?...Think you'd be able to manage something then?..."

"Probably...but Auntie I'm really not seeing that as a possibility…"

"Come to Parappa town with us!"

"What?"

"What he said. What?" Katy and PJ look at Sweety, absolutely puzzled as their faces turned into a confused blank.

"Well our town is never a slouch in keeping it's people upbeat and cheery whenever we aren't in the middle of the crises of the week. Surely it should be simple to cheer up Leo there!"

"Well you're not wrong dear, but currently we kinda are in the middle of our crises...of the month…" PJ grimaces at the thoughts of what went down.

"Oh but Lammy's sure enough keeping herself calm along with Ma-san and Rammy helping Parappa do the same! So there's not THAT much to interrupt our attempt at helping him calm down."

Both PJ and Katy nod in agreement as they glance towards Leo, awaiting his reply "...Well alright then...guess I got nothin BETTER to do…"

"Great! Then let's move it son! Down that demented elevator we go!" Katy heads out the busted door with the bears.

"You all do that, I'm taking the scenic route as to avoid letting people know I left."

"What scenic route? There's only the eleva- what are you doing…?" She watches as Leo grabs his helmet and puts on his jacket as he opens the glass doors to his balcony, he stands on the railing of the balcony and then turns to face them.

"See you at the bottom!" He falls backwards as he plummets downwards.

"LEO?!" All three of them scatter to the balcony he just dropped from as they all frantically look everywhere to see where he fell only to get knocked onto their rears once Leo flies back up.

"Chill outttt. I have this jetpack after all, remember?" He floats around the three as they each reply with their own emotion.

"Oh right...all this made me forget you had that...DON'T DO THAT…"

"YEAH WE DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD IT! ONLY SHE DID AND SHE DIDN'T TELL US!..."

"WE SINCERELY THOUGHT YOU JUST DOVE DOWN LIKE A LUNATIC!...YOU ALMOST GAVE THE THREE OF US HEART ATTACKS..." after Sweety says this, anger fumes puff out of their heads as Leo rolls his eyes.

"Why would I dive off like a madman if I didn't have something to ensure my safety?...How else did you think I get down AND back up whenever I wanted to leave without being seen leaving?..." They stay angry "Come on...i'm fine...if it really is that big a deal for you three…I'm sorry..."

"OF COURSE IT IS! WE THOUGHT YOU BLATANTLY ATTEMPTED TO KILL YOURSELF…"

"Oh relaaaax…" _Haven't attempted to do that in five years…_ "I'd never do that. I'm not _that_ pessimistic...yet." They still stay angry "Fine...i'll go down the elevator with you three…"

* * *

"Thanks for letting me borrow the song Niles."

"No problem. Anything to stop your bad work ethic. Once you feel like you've gotten better you make sure you return it alright?"

"I will. Don't have to tell me that constantly."

"Can't be to sure. Already gave you that guitar of mine. Can't have you taking all my lovely things!"

"Alright, I get it. Thanks again."

"Remember not to let anyone get to you! Not even the two of them!"

"I won't." _Man, I know he's only doing this to prevent me from dragging the place down, but he can be surprisingly nice when need be…_ Lammy places the small headphones back in her ears as she heads off, meanwhile the rest of the group arrive in Parappa town as they escort Leo about in an area not to far from her.

"So why not take your helmet off?..."

"No. I have no clue who these people are and having them see me will be-"

"But they don't know you are. They don't know what you are. We can hide 'Leo Steps' because they don't see you as that. They're aware of who the guy is, but now what he looks like under the mask. As long as you don't really talk that much you can pass off as just a friend we've known and are just trying to get to have a good time."

"Auntie that's…"

"Sweety has a point son!" Leo covers her mouth as she nearly shouts out her line.

"Careful!..." He lets go "Well...the idea has some merit but...it's still risky...what do you think PJ?..."

"Honestly? Let's give it a go...As long as we don't bump into Matt, Paula, Lammy, Ma-san or Parappa you'll be fine."

"Exactly what he said! Plus your body's more feminine without all that clunky leather clothes on hiding everything! So you can pose as the girl you're the son of! Especially given how big your hips and butt are! And currently you can either play off as Rammy or Ma-san as they have Parappa's attention for the time being!"

"But Ma-san doesn't have wavy black and blonde hair and Rammy definitely would never have a long blonde portion of hair connecting to her base black hair.. That might be tricky to explain if people get curious." PJ taps his chin.

"Relatives! We can pose em off as a sister!" Katy's tail whips to and fro from her constant solution finding.

"That could work…"

"I agree with her, it'll definitely work!"

"WHY ARE YOU ALL TREATING ME AS A GIRL RATHER THAN A GUY?!..." The simply stare at him as their eyes scan him from head to toe. They end it off by staring directly at his face with the expression of 'Have you SEEN your body?' "You all upset me…but I still love all of you nonetheless..."

"Let's just get you to my place so we can give you a change of clothes man." PJ cargo holds Europa, who doesn't even struggle as he just crosses his arms. As they head off, Parappa wanders the streets in an area away from them with Ma-san and Rammy right behind him.

"This is nice. Just walking down the streets, taking in the tranquility." He sighs "To bad it's pretty much short lived."

("Now you don't know that for sure mutt.")

"Yeah, things can pick up rather quickly for you."

"Thanks for the emotional boosters, but I'm just starting to wear a little thin towards how much I can truly believe that…" He stares up at the sky "But hey...at the moment it's all I got. So why not try my best to keep with it. What you two wanna do now?..."

Rammy and Ma-san quickly huddle up _("I'm all tapped out on ideas...clearly it's getting to repetitive for him…")_

" _Same here…"_

 _("We gotta think up something…")_

" _I mean he's fine with anything...what do you like to do?..."_

 _("Honestly...with him? Anything. As long as he isn't a sad sack…")_

" _Same...man we're bad at this...hm…"_ She walks over to Parappa "Yo. What do you like to do for fun for yourself man? No obligations of help or anything of the sort. Just you on a normal, calm, no problems of the sort, day."

"Well...either play basketball...sing...or just chill with all of you guys if y'all are able. I'm pretty boring heh…" He bashfully sticks his tongue out as his tail wags meekly.

"Well for anyone else, that would be a bit boring. However for a guy like you? It's understandable." she picks pats him on the head like one would with an actual dog "Nothing wrong with that, just think of something you'd like to do and we'll hang. Right?" Ma-san nods "See?"

"Hm...Guess we could go to...oh! The pond! Haven't really been there since the whole...pocket world incident. You remember the one I told you about while I was helping you learn Ma-san's language?"

"Yeah I recall. One where you got stuck with a bunch of rock people and fire people. Sure. That good with you Ma-san?"

("Sure, would be nice to see that place without the threat of being tossed in the middle of a group fued. It really is a sight to see.")

"Great! Then let's go!"

* * *

"Gah...these don't fit me…" Leo struggle to fit on the next set of pants he is handed.

"It's not my fault ya got a big ol booty!" Katy sneers as she watches her partial son fail to wear any article of clothing handed to him.

"Mother I could do without your added quips…" He gives up trying "Look. This idea is clearly not gonna work. So I'm just gonna go back to wearing my regular clothes."

"Oh no you don't! Me and Sweety are gonna make sure you get out of here in a nice casual incognito apparel! And that's final!"

"Oh yeah? How you gonna manage that huh?" he smirks as he crosses his arms and closes his eyes in a pompous victory sense, but upon opening his eyes he sees something that freaks him out "U-Uh...why are you two getting closer?..." They giggle maniacally as they approach him with an onslaught of clothes "H-Heh...we don't n-need to do this...r-right?..." They lunge at him "UNCLE PJ HE-" Help wouldn't arrive as PJ was asleep on his couch a few rooms over. The whole ordeal shakes the entirety of the flat. This goes one for what feels like forever, but in actuality took about a half hour. Once finished, Europa is ejected into the room PJ is in like a cannonball. As he crashes into the floor, PJ wakes up startled.

"Wazzappahuh?...Oh hey...looks like they had to use drastic measures in order to get you to wear anything." PJ's only response was a pain groan as Europa refused to remove his face from the floor "Well if it makes you feel better. You look nice. Girls clearly managed to find both a fitting outfit in the figurative sense and literal one to!"

"Thanks…" Europa dejectedly gets back up. His new attire consisted of a purple and blue one off shoulder top. yellow sweatpants and pink legwarmers. His shoes were now blue ankle boots. The entirety of the blonde portion of his hair was tied into a ponytail as to hide the fake dog ear appearance the hair gave to better build his facade.

"The only slight problem is that I dunno if Ma-san or Rammy would wear this combo of clothes."

"That's the thing. They're deciding on whether or not I should just act as a relative friend now given my limited clothing options. They wanted your feedback."

"Well you pull of the girl look flawlessly for obvious reasons." he chuckles.

"Get to the point."

"We'll try that. You could make it work if you, again, don't talk that much. You open your mouth and the charade shatters instantly...your voice may be pretty girlish, but it's still an obvious give away that your a guy if you keep speaking."

"You are seriously not cheering me up in the slightest. You expect me to help you guys come up with a solution like this?..."

"We're just thinking ahead. Now come on. You have your outfit all set. Go tell em the new plan is a go and we'll be off to properly cheer you up."

"As you wish...I don't really see this working out all too well…"

With everyone instructed, they head out.

"Alright son don't forget this!" She places a hat on top of his head.

"A giant sun hat?..."

"To hide your horns or dynamite stick! In case we accidentally bump into our friends who DON'T know your secret! We can play you off as a different person!"

"Well...that oughta help a bit more...thanks."

"I do know best after all~" She smiles as she grabs him by the arm and drags him off "Come on! The faster we help you, the faster we help everyone!"

"H-Heeeey! I have perfectly functioning legs!..." Europa is dragged away as Katy refuses to let go.

Both bears simply chuckle at the scene before them.

"It didn't take long for him to grow on her now did it? Even if the chance is up in the air that SHE'S his actual mother in the end."

"H-Heh...yeah...up in the air…W-Well why wouldn't he grow on her? The chance of seeing your child just up and walking in front of you is just an emotional experience in its own right!"

"But he's not her guaranteed kid."

"W-Well you uh...don't know that for sure...h-heh…" She notices him become wary of her stuttering "I-I mean how would you feel if it were our future daughter who came back i-instead!"

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm." She sighs once he gets caught up in deep thought, completely

forgetting his concern over her faltering chat.

 _Boy it sure is hard making it believable that I don't know who is mother is...especially when we're talking about his mother right now!..._ "Well?..."

"I dunno honestly. It'd be weird, but I guess I see where you're going with it. I'd feel inclined to get along with her and see how they are like and what we are like in the future." He looks back to her "Of course I know for a fact that you'd be just like Katy with Leo."

"Oh shushhhhh! You can't blame me for being a happy mama bear!"

"Yes I can, now come on before we lose em."

"Fine fine let's goooo!"

* * *

"Wow...never thought an empty borin place like this could be sooo…" Rammy glances at the water as Parappa and Ma-san continue her sentence for her.

"Entrancing?"

("Invigorating?")

"Uplifting?"

("Relaxing?")

"Enoooooough. You made your points. And yes all of the above." Rammy lays on the grass with her hands behind her head "How'd you guys even find this place?"

("Don't look at me. I found out about this place somewhat recently. The only ones who knew about it were mutt here and Katy.")

"And I gotta say it was all Katy. It's pretty much cuz of her that we even FOUND this place. It's how we met even!" He smiles as he also reclines onto his back "The entire encounter was rather hectic, but I got to meet someone who was also struggling and needed a good friend. Like you believe it or not. And she would become someone really special in my life. We may not always see eye, we may not always enjoy what the other does at times, and we may even butt heads here and there. But in the end she's someone I hold dear and depend on and vice versa. Just as I hope you can as well. Even you as well Ma-san."

"Heh...ya big sap."

("Get used to that, cuz it all he does whenever his mouth feels like it.") they both share a laugh with the happy dog.

* * *

The small group of four leave a music store after checking out it's wares and head on over to an open fast food joint before they notice something bugging Leo. Leo sighs as he looks towards the happy people walking about "I wonder how dad's doin right now…"

"Oh, i'm sure the other two have Parappa at ease. Judging by your fa-..."

"What is it Katy?..."

"N-Nothing...just...give me a hug…~"

"Uh...oka- OOF…" He is quickly silenced by her latching onto him "Man what got you in an affectionate mood?..."

PJ and Sweety watch from afar as they look to each other "Should you tell him or should I?"

"Let the girl enjoy her moment with her currently clueless son!"

"Heh...alright. She deserves to be cheered up to."

* * *

"Man looking at the water makes me wanna dive in...but I didn't bring anything to do that."

"Just take off your shirt and dive in, isn't that what most guys do anyway in general?"

"Yeah, but i'm not like most other guys. Cuz then I either have to put the shirt back on when i'm done, or keep it off till I get home and I'll most likely get cold. That and I'll both smell and feel like a wet dog...blegh…"

"You are such a mixed bag."

(Ain't that the truth.")

"Hey I thought you guys were supposed to be on my side!"

("Can't defend you there mutt!") Ma-san motions her wrist ("As a friend it's in our best interest to show you when you're being a dunce.")

"Alright I'll admit to me being a mess with how I go about handling things, but you really should see where I'm coming from with this."

"What's there to see? You're just being afraid of the water for no damn reason!"

"I'm not afraid! I'm just thinking of the results after!"

"Sureeeeeeee." Rammy snickers as she looks away.

"Alright fine, i'll just dive right in right now to prove it to the two of you that I can to throw sensibility out the window!" He forcibly pulls his shirt and beanie off as he then takes a beeline for the water, but he stops right as he reaches the edge.

("Well...you goin in or what?")

"I will!...Just uh...admiring the water!"

"Why are you taking steps backwards then?"

"Cuz...my running start was messed up! I wanna try again!" as he resumes walking backwards. Four hands grab him by the scruff of his neck and back as he's hoisted into the air "H-Huh…" When he looks around, both Ma-san and Rammy have picked him up "H-Hey….w-what are you two gonna-"

"HELPING!" The rear back and fling Parappa towards the water as he flails about in the air before splashing down.

Parappa resurfaces as he spits water out of his mouth "THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR!"

"You weren't gonna budge."

("So we helped ya budge.")

Parappa just growls lightly as his head slightly submerges again, creating a bubble barrage by his mouth "Gee...thanks…" Once he leaves the water they help dry him off.

"Heh. Sorry man, but you gotta admit that you were basically asking for it."

("She's right, if you just either did it on your own or fully admitted to your dumb irrational thinking. This wouldn't have happened.")

"Yeah I know…my bad…"

("Tell you what, once all this is cleared and our friend circle is back as it should be, we'll help convince everyone to go to the beach. How's that sound?")

"That'd be nice!" He regains the happy smile he had before he was forcibly tossed into the water.

"Geez man...you got a lot of hair to deal with. Wouldn't it be easier to cut it?..."

"NO!...I REFUSE!..." He immediately recoils back as he grabs his hair in fear "I'd be lying if I didn't think about it myself...but then I think about the actual process and that's just gonna be a big no from me…"

Rammy rolls her eyes "Suit yourself Paraps." She turns to Ma-san as Parappa resumes drying his hair on his own "What's his deal?"

("Nothing! Just a bad incident with a certain octopus hairdresser. Left him with a phobia, can you believe it?")

"Not a one, but i'm seeing it in front of me so eh. I'll just nod my head and move on."

("You and me both sister.")

Once dried off, the trio decide to head off elsewhere. Once out of the grotto they begin discussing where to go next, to a point where it becomes Ma-san and Rammy insisting on going to a place the other prefers.

"No I insist, we go to YOUR pick."

("And I say, no we're going to the spot YOU picked!")

"Guys come on we can just go to both spots…" Parappa is ultimately ignored as they keep at it. The rapping dog groans as he facepalms and walks in place staring at the distance to see what there could be, and in the corner of his eye...he spots Lammy "Is...that really her?..." Without hesitation, he's off.

"Okokok, let's just ask Parappa how he thinks we should handle this!"

("I'm alright with that. Mutt what do you think we should do?") They both notice Parappa has left ("Parappa?...") They quickly scan the area around, only to find nothing on where he is or went.

"HOW DID WE LOSE HIM?!"

("GAH…HE PROBABLY LEFT WHILE WE WERE INDECISIVE...")

"What do we do now?"

Ma-san quickly pulls out her phone ("I'm gonna text Katy to see if she can help us find him…She's hopefully back in town by now…")

* * *

After visiting the scenic locales and meeting the quirky people all over, the group relocate out in the middle of a main crossing before Leo speaks up again.

"Gotta say, PaRappa Town's a nice place. Extraordinary faces all around. Fun locales…" Leo slumps over "I just wish I didn't have to play off as a girl to enjoy the area…"

"Aw but you make such a cute girl!~" Katy bounces around the tormented soul.

"That is not boosting my morale…"

"But you gotta admit you make a convincing girl." PJ says as he slaps Leo on the back of the shoulder

"I AM AWARE…" He plucks out a wad of papers from his pocket "At least sixteen dudes mistook me for one as they clearly tried to hit on me. Hell they all even gave me their numbers...BLEGH…" Disgusted, he throws the papers to the wind as the three around him laugh uncontrollably.

"Come on that just shows how good of an actor you are!"

"Of course I'm a damn good actor Katy! Paula made sure of that…" Leo scoffs "Probably TO good an actor…"

"Aw come on! The entire day was fun and you know it!"

"...Yeah...ok I will admit that. Through the hiccups, it was a very enjoyable day."

"See! My plan was a success!" Sweety nods solemnly with a victory smile. Immediately after Katy's phone beeps.

"Oh! A message from...Ma-san?..." She quickly reads the multiple messages sent. " _If you are back in PaRappa Town, please help us find Parappa. We may or may not have lost sight of him and have no clue where he could have ended up."_

"How do you lose sight of him?!...how distracted could they have been!" Leo fumes in place until static encases his body, forcing everyone to look at him once it stops "What?..."

"I think we found where Parappa is…" PJ rubs his head as if it started to ache again.

"Oh no no noooooo…" Katy begins panicking in place.

"Don't tell me…"

"Yep...He found her…" Sweety holds up a small mirror to his face, he was now a red sheep.

"W-We gotta go now! This will not end well if they try handling it themselves…" as Katy says this they all nod and run off.

* * *

"Ugh...Niles was right...this song is like an enigma...I can't find anything on it...even the name!..." Lammy sighs as her pacing slows "Maybe...I could call Leo?...No he might be unable to answer...should I visit?...I don't really wanna ask the others to drive me there...and my motorbike is in Katy's van...maybe I'll get a bus to take me there…" She turns the music up louder to stop her anxiety from building from overthinking. From the distance however she swears she could hear something faint.

"L..my!"

"It's probably just someone calling out to a person they see on the street…"

".am.y!"

"Wish they'd reply so they'd stop yelling…"

"La...mmy!..."

"Wait…" She turns down the volume.

"Lammy!..."

"Oh no…" She forces herself to turn around as she removes one earbud. To her dismay, it was him.

"Finally...whoa man...been calling out to catch your attention for the past two blocks…"

"..." _Maybe...this will help me talk it through?..._

"H-Heh...oh you're listening to music! That's why!" Lammy reinserts the removed earbud "Um...Lammy?"

"What is it…" _Why did you have to show up again..._

"I uh...have been trying to talk to you since the past two weeks...but you kinda...vanished…"

"I did do that I suppose...why bother yourself with looking for me?..." _You cared enough to look for me...what for?..._

"Because I wanted to see what happened and how to clear it all up! You see it was a mistake-"

"It's always a mistake isn't it…" _Just like me...and trying to speak to you..._

"What?..."

"My mistake of leaving...letting things go down...but then I made the mistake of wanting to come back...only for it to be late…" _It hurt...but I didn't think leaving would undo all that i've been trying to build up...returning just made it hurt so much more worse...and yet I still want to be here...because you'd probably help make it go away..._

"W-What do you mean…"

Lammy sighs as she turns around to resume walking "What I mean is…" _How...do I say it?..._ She turns her head to look at him "I don't...really wanna see you again...I don't know for how long...but I know that I don't wanna see you now..." _Something...doesn't feel right..._

"..." Parappa places his hands in his pocket and looks down, then after a few seconds he looks back up with a smile "If that's what you want, then I'll respect it. I'm sorry for bugging you." He turns around.

"..." _Why does this feel like I said...the wrong thing?..._

Parappa's calm walk turns into a heavy sprint as he runs. Running to get out of her sight. Out of anyone's sight. He didn't want to be seen, or talked to. This felt familiar to the ewe who was watching. The last part that finally connected the dots were tear stains on the ground were he was previously standing.

"...no...I-I didn't…" _I...worded it wrong…_ "Didn't mean...to...s-say all that…" _No...I knew what I was saying...but I was still upset...and…_ She chokes out the next words "Don't...go…" _Why can't I move...why can't I run after him...I told him the wrong thing and…_ Lammy's body continues on its original destination. _It's...to late...I already said it...I can't just apologize like nothing even happened after that…_ A sigh turn whimper escapes her mouth as she simply raises the volume once more. Crying as she walks off. Eyes closed, not caring where her legs took her. Ignorant to all around her.

* * *

"Come on...he could be anywhere…"

"Well we just gotta look ha-AAAGH…" Leo falls onto one knee as multiple jolts of electricity surge from his body.

"L-Leo?..."

"G-Gah...man this feels like...what happened...two weeks ago…only not as severe..."

"Two weeks...when you just left!...W-What happened?.."

"I...can fill in for him there…" Sweety helps Leo up before looking at Katy "When the whole incident went down...Leo's body here began...fritzing...heavily. He even said he felt as if he were being ripped apart…" She glances at the disguised boy "During that he violently swapped between all his appearances...which made me wonder what happened with you all...but I think Leo managed to figure out what the whole thing was…"

"I did...what happened to me was the timelines almost disconnecting...but the shift wasn't exactly a severe one guaranteeing it...no...it was a slight one that could be fixed somehow…"

"Sweety you knew about this and didn't tell me or Katy?"

"I couldn't!...I promised not to!"

"What was the shift…?" Katy watches Leo struggle to say the rest.

"Well...basically...for a brief time period I wasn't able to swap between three of my appearances...the reason for that was that you got so angry at Parappa that your answer towards his eventual ask changed to no...the three were you Ma-san and Lammy...but not long after that happened I could go back to being able to turn back into the child of either you or Ma-san's...but not Lammy's…"

"That's because...we were absolutely livid with him at the time…and she's still..." Katy rubs her head, gaining a massive headache "So a quick spur of emotion can change so much...but you were able to turn back into Lammy's potential child to now!..."

"That's right...I was...not anymore though. Currently...it looks like they met...and...as you predicted…" Leo sighs "It went south immediately...I don't know what happened but Lammy's future answer changed back to no…He's clearly got her on the mind, but my body ain't changing to that specific one."

"Oh man...we have to find them now!...are you gonna be ok?..."

"I'll be fine. What matters more is that we have to find the two of them! Now come on!" He runs off "WE HAVE TO GO N-AUGH…" He slams into Rammy and Ma-san, who were also running.

"Ack…"

("Oof…")

"Rammy! Ma-san!..." The duo look up to see Katy.

"You...wouldn't happen to have found him would ya?..."

"Sorry Rammy...no dice…"

"Aw fuck…"

("Dammit...this is our fault...we kinda got distracted and the next thing we know...he's gone.") Ma-san punches the ground.

"Don't worry. We know where he should be!...well...where he was supposed to be...not sure if he's there anymore…"

"WHERE?!" They say together.

"Eheh...he found his way to Lammy…" Dread envelopes their faces as Katy mentions that.

("GAH...DAMMIT…This is becoming a mess really quickly again…Huh?...Oh sorry, forgot we knocked you down uh...Who are you?") She stares at Leo, who is currently a blue cat, but the hat hides his eyes and his ears.

"U-Uh…"

"She's my cousin!...She came by for a visit and I promised her I'd show her around!...She even went as far as help as look for Parappa. Her name's...Leonora!"

Rammy immediately puts two and two together, she snorts at the made up name "N-Nice to meet you Leonohohohora…~"

"...Nice to meet the two of you as well…" He gets up and holds onto the hat "I'd uh...like to keep the formalities short...we got someone we're looking for right?"

("Right!")

"Then let's go!" Leo runs off with everyone behind him. Ma-san catches up with Katy.

("Didn't wanna be rude, but your cousin has a deep voice.")

"Eheh...tell me about it."

Through constant running and searching, the conjoined group eventually give up in trying to search for Parappa. It isn't until they decide to head back towards to the park that they find him on a bench.

"Found him…" They all huddle around him, but he pays no mind to any of them.

"Hey man...you ok?..." PJ gets no reply as Parappa stays on the bench, immobile.

("I take it you found Lambs?...") There is nothing but silence.

"Hey is there...anything we can do to cheer you up?..." Parappa sighs once Katy finishes.

"No...not really...If anything I think I wanna be alone." He covers his entire head in his beanie.

Everyone looks at each other before back to Parappa.

"You'll...feel better if you tell us what happened you know."

"Maybe I will PJ, but right now...I just don't feel like remembering what happened…"

"Would you rather return to the state you were in that hurt everyone just because only one person hurt you?" Rammy crosses her arms sternly.

"..." He hops off the bench "Fine...just talk, but I wanna walk back home as we speak…"

* * *

"Ouch...I...didn't take Lammy as the type to get that upset…or say that specifically." PJ scratches his head "I mean that's something I'd expect from Katy, Ma-san or Rammy, but not her.

"HEY!" Katy starts flailing in place.

"ALSO HEY!" Fire burns in Rammy's eyes.

("Eh that's a fair assumption.") Ma-san shrugs.

"But...I guess I deserve it…I'm the one who upset her so the least I can do is respect her wishes…" Parappa drops his head "No matter how hurtful it may be…"

"That's not true! Lammy isn't the type to just say that of her own true intent! She's just hurt. After all, recall how you were when you were hurt? And you managed to get over it with help! This situation isn't as severe as yours, but she'll still need some form of help."

"I know and I also know that help won't be from me…not until she says so anyway…" Parappa turns his attention to Leo "By the way...I don't think we've met...who are you?"

"Oh she's just a cousin of mine who decided to visit! And I uh...promised to show her around."

"Ah...well...sorry that this was your introduction to our town…"

"Oh no no don't worry over it! My visit was still enjoyable nonetheless and I chose to help everyone in finding you!"

"Well thank you kindly...also wow you have a deep voice…"

"H-Heh...yeah i'm aware…"

"S-Sorry!...That was insensitive of me...uh…"

"Leonora…"

"Huh...nice name."

"Thanks…" Everyone except for Ma-san and Parappa giggle profusely against their better judgement despite the tension of the situation.

The group continue their walk as they try to think up ways to help cheer the sad hound up. With varying results, but the end result the same.

"Man is their anything we can do to help you?"

"Not really PJ...again i'm not really in the mood to be helped right now…I just wanna sleep this off for today…"

"Sleeping is good. Would help you relax, but at the same time. Resorting to that instead of trying to uplift yourself beforehand isn't. Why not try thinking up ways to help out Lammy?"

"There's not really that much to think about if she currently hates me."

"For the nth time Parappa, she doesn't hate you." Sweety shakes her head at having to constantly bring this up.

"Could've fooled me...look you guys weren't really there when she said it, so you can't tell the emotion that I felt from it. And it was not a happy one."

"Ok you have me beat there...dogs do perceive that better than anyone else…" She gives an awkward chuckle "Still, you can probably do better if you think up something rather than continuously moping around…"

"I tried that when the three of my roommates left for an extended tour, then when they came back this happened. So you can clearly see my fear of trying to handle this again…"

"Also fair...alright it's probably better if I stop trying to help...you seem to have a reply for everything..." Sweety dejectedly backs away towards PJ "Man I have no way of getting to him...how do you do it?"

"I tease him or just slap him up the head. If I change his emotion, it becomes really hard for him to try and pull this sort of thing constantly. He'll either be to angry or to embarrassed to properly think up a reply."

"Huh...so that's why you do that…"

As the group continue walking they make it towards an intersection in which…

"Uh oh…" Katy spots Lammy crossing the street. Completely slouched over and upset.

"What do you mean by 'Uh o-' Oh no…" PJ also sees the lamb.

"What the fuck are you two seein that's getting you to ta- aw hell…" Rammy quickly tries to go in front of Parappa to prevent him from spotting her.

("Ey don't leave us out of the loop yoooooou gotta be kidding me…") Ma-san goes on to help Rammy.

"What are you guys seeing that i'm noooooooot good..." Sweety immediately taps Leo's shoulder and points towards Lammy causing him to panic.

"Alright mind telling me what's up? Why are you all actin so strangely all of a sudden…" He shoves Rammy and Ma-san out of the way "Oh...that's why...well that's fair I guess…" He tries to go back behind the duo until Leo points out-

"Hey anyone else feel the ground beginning to shake violently all of a sudden? Almost like a-

" **RUNAWAY TRUCK!"** shout the people on the street as they scramble away from the road. All except for Lammy, who is lost into the music she's listening to.

"Yeah tha- WHAT?!" Leo spots the aforementioned truck. It drives crazily down the street towards Lammy "WHY ISN'T SHE RUNNING?!..."

"LAMMY RUN!" Katy jumps and flails her arms about to try and get her attention.

("LAMBS GET THE HELL OF THE ROAD!") Ma-san follows suit while also trying to ignite a fire from her dynamite

"SHE CAN'T HEAR IT OR US WITH THE HEADPHONES SHE HAS ON!" Sweety points out the things in her ears

"JUST HOW LOUD DID SHE PUT THE MUSIC?!..." PJ yells out as he to join Katy and Ma-san in trying to grab her attention.

Before they can all run to try and help, Parappa had already sprung past them all in a mad dash. He catches up to Lammy before the truck does as he tackles her away from danger, semi knocking the two of them out. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief followed by Katy rushing in on the two to check if they're alright. However as the truck continuously drives uncontrollably, it loses its cargo as the door holding them back breaks. Three large steel beams are let loose and begin tumbling down the road towards Katy's direction.

"KATY!" Everyone shouts to the cat who notices far to late as she's within the middle of the crashing beams path. Katy closes her eyes awaiting the worst.

" **KICK! PUNCH! CHOP!"**

Katy reopens her eyes to see the beams destroy and in pieces on the ground around her feet. After hearing those words she assumed Parappa helped save her, but he was still conked out on the ground with Lammy. When she looks forward she see Leo. The band holding his hair in a ponytail was broken so his hair returned into place as his hat flew off, completely exposing who he was.

"Aw man...my hands...aw but forget that, are you alright?!..." Leo quickly turns and scans Katy to see if she wasn't injured.

Katy manages to move again, the fear mostly gone "I-I'm fine...thanks...but…"

"But what?..." He goes back to scanning "Did one of the pieces hit you?"

"No..not that. Your...hat…" She points to the hat on the ground.

"My ha-...uh oh…" Thankfully everyone had left the area to avoid getting run over, but there was still the group they were in. Lammy and Parappa were currently out, but Ma-san was staring directly at him. Leo instinctively grabs the hat and places it back on "H-Heh...nothing to see here…"

("So can I get an explanation as to who this gal really is?...")

Everyone sighs with Leo being the first to speak up "Well for starters...I'm not a girl...and second off...it's me Leo…"

("That explains the voice...now, explain to me why you look like that…")

"We can handle that for him...right girls?" PJ says as the others huddle up.

"Yeah...we can." They say in unison as they all, minus Katy, approach Ma-san. Katy instead checks on her two passed out friends.

* * *

("I can see why'd you hide it, but in that case why not wear your usual get up?...")

"I'd still draw attention to myself. The helmet seems to always attract attention…"

("Can you blame them?")

"No...not really."

("Soooo...a chance to be my kid huh?...that's...wild.")

"Yeah...that's about an accurate response I'd expect from someone being told that." Leo scratches his neck as he fixes his hair back up into a ponytail after being given a new band "Anywho...these guys wanted me to be more casual so I could better hide in without being suspicious of anything. Could've gone without being a girl, but eh...I still enjoyed my time regardless...till this happened…"

("So that's how you knew where Parappa was. Man this must be quite the annoying mess to have to deal with.")

"Well...yeah it's cumbersome, but…" He flickers into the appearance of his red sheep form before flickering back into his blue cat form "I think things are starting to fix themselves…"

"Y-You looked like Lammy for just a sec! That means…" Katy looks between Leo and the two on the ground that begin motioning around.

"That she's starting to come around? Both the waking up sense and the whole, she wants to end this mess sense?" Once Leo says this, both Parappa and Lammy groggily begin to wake up.

"Oh thank goodness…"

Lammy rubs her eyes as the earbuds pop out of her ears. She then notices that Parappa is right next to her, doing the same action "W-WAH…" She looks around to see everyone. "W-What happened?...W-Why am I on the ground?..."

("Parappa here had to dive tackle you to get you out of harm's way. Your lack of attention almost made you roadkill at the hands of a runaway truck.")

"W-What…" She looks at the street to see skid marks all over.

Parappa lightly chuckles before speaking up "Heh...I know you said you didn't wanna see me for a while...but I couldn't just let that happen...my apologies…"

Lammy could feel the emotions kicking her in the stomach. Even with all that she did and said, he still went out of his way to do even THIS for her. Everything within her was doing all it can to get her to admit the truth of the matter. Lammy sighs as she tries to force it out "A-About that…"

"Hm?..."

"W-When I said all that...I wasn't…"

"Wasn't what?...it's all good you know...I understand that I fucked up and-"

"No it's just...I…I…" Parappa as well as the rest simply stare at her waiting for what she has to say "I g-gotta go…!" She quickly gets up and runs off.

"L-Lammy!..." Parappa extends his arm out forlornly before letting it drop to the ground "Well...guess she's still upset…"

"On the contrary man...it seemed like she couldn't find the words to say to either thank you or apologize."

"Maybe, but I guess the current result is still the same… At least I know...she doesn't flat out hate me…" He gets back up "Come on. I change my mind. Let's go find Matt and Paula. I wanna see if we can do something together, and try to cheer back up."

"Roger that. They should just now be leaving the cafe..." _I feel bad leaving it to just those two..._ "You all ok with that?" Everyone nods with PJ as they all head off. Except for Leo who stares at something Lammy dropped. Katy notices and walks back to him.

"What's wrong son?..."

"Lammy was...really caught up in this song...Wonder what she was listening to…" He picks up the player and places an earbud in. Instantly, he smiles.

"W-What is it?"

"I know how to help fix this now!" The joy reanimates itself back onto Katy's face as well as Leo turns towards the direction that Lammy ran off to and sprints away.

 _Finally! The silver lining is here! All I need to do is get her to go see me...and then from that point on...it's all up to Parappa and Katy...here goes nothing!_


	21. A friend in need

Lammy stay on a bench as she stares at the sky, wondering why she ran away and if there is anything she could say or do. comes to mind "Man...w-what do I do…"

"What do you think you should do Lammy?"

"EEP...W-Who are you?..." Lammy panics upon seeing the disguised Leo.

"Uh...cousin of Katy...names Leonora."

"Oh...Katy n-never mentioned you..."

"Do you think she'd ever want to talk about her family?"

"...Good p-point...what brings you h-here?..."

"Wanted to visit and see the sights. Then I got caught up in seeing what happened with you and Parappa."

"Ah...i'm...s-sorry for that...I take it you saw me run off then...seeing a-as you're here right now…" She rubs her left arm "Things h-have just been a huge m-mess recently…"

"Don't worry, I opted to tag along. I even chose to follow you out of my own free will. Speaking of which. You dropped this." Leo hands her the music player.

"OH!...I-I didn't even notice that I dropped it!...T-Thanks Leonora…"

"No problem. You seemed to have been deeply locked within the song when you almost got run over. Why is that?"

"Well...my boss recommended the song to me to cheer me up. Well the instrumental since he couldn't find the full copy of the song...and it worked!...then I bumped into Parappa and my negative emotions seeped out and vented towards him by accident...by the time I wanted to undo what I said...it was to late...so I tried listening to the song again to try and cheer up...but it was taking a bit longer than the first time as I had him on the mind…" she rests her face on her hands "It almost worked...till I had to be saved by him...then I just felt the guilt even more."

"Well you really shouldn't. He wouldn't want it that way would he?"

"No...he wouldn't…" She places the earbuds back in her ears "I just don't know...I wanna fully calm down before I can try to hear him out and fix things up...and maybe he can help me finally get along with Rammy…but I just can't bring myself to..."

"Why?...She hasn't really done much to affect you all right?..."

"She's with the guy I love...she TOOK the guy I love...And...it's just...to much...look I may have always beat her by chance when it came to our competitions...but...she's just...so much better than me in everything else...she can speak her mind...she's stronger than me...doesn't need to hold a guitar to build that up...Confident...headstrong...prettier than I...everything…"

Leo was astounded to hear what Rammy would tell him in the future come from Lammy's mouth as well "...would you like to know the name of the song you're listening to?"

"Y-You know it?..."

"Yes! And my cousin told me that you know the guy who sang it! So you could go to him and ask him about it. He'll be more than happy to perform the song to you. You could even go now! I'm sure Katy would be overjoyed in taking you there!"

"Are you sure?..."

"I know I am." Katy speaks up, drawing Lammy's attention to the fact that she had been sitting next to her the entire time.

"W-WHA...W-WHEN...H-HOW…" Katy sticks her tongue out with a nod of her head.

"Who's to say it wasn't my cousins idea as she kept you distracted?~"

"..." Lammy looks to the ground "So you…"

"Heard all that?...yeah...but I'm not gonna FORCE you to fix things if you feel you aren't capable of it yet. I know how you are, and I'll only help once I know you're ready to ask for it. Just make sure to ask me alright?"

"Alright...r-right now counts to that?..."

"Exactly!" She winks "I clearly see how much that song was of a big help, and if my cuz here knows what it is, it'd make sense for you to listen to it firsthand from the guy who sang it right?"

"Right...um...Leonora?...Mind telling me the song?..."

"Of course! You two just go on to Leo and tell him to play for you the song. 'Instant Crush'! Don't forget!"

"T-Thank you!..." She get's off the bench and bows.

"Oh! You don't need to do all that, i'm just helping out with how I can. Now I suggest going now! Leo might not be waiting in his club for much longer!"

"Right!...L-Let's go K-Katy!..." Lammy runs off while Katy scoots towards Leo.

"How exactly are you waiting at the club?! You're right here!..."

"Simple. Just call or text PJ and tell him to meet me at his flat, I'll change my clothes and jetpack my way back in a jiffie! I'm certain i'll be able to beat you there!"

She pulls out her phone "You better son...You gave her such big hope...don't break it…"

"I won't! Just make sure that once I do help her out, that you help Parappa think up a way to get the two ewes to get along! Like how it happened in the regular timeline!"

"I will. Now go! I messaged him and he's on his way."

"Roger!" Leo runs off to fulfill his end of the action.

* * *

"Katy...you sure your cousin was right with Leo being here?...That sign says the club is closed till further notice…"

"Uh...ignore that. Leo just doesn't wanna accept people for now. But I know he'll accept us!" Katy's eyes glance by her left wing mirror, in the distance she sees what looks like a jet flying towards the club. Upon closer inspection it's Leo sputtering by in a hurry.

"Are y-you sure?..."

"Totally!" She looks back to the mirror and sees that he vanished. She then looks forward and see Leo zig zag across the sky poorly, before ultimately crashing through a window in his establishment. This causes Katy to floor it.

"W-WHOA!...W-What with the sudden speed boost?..."

"J-Just uh...w-wanna help you ASAP…" _You didn't need to risk your safety in order to beat us here you idiot…_

"O-Oh...t-thanks!...B-But please keep it manageable...y-you're causing everything to f-fly everywhere back h-here!..."

"Sorry…"

The duo arrive and knock on the doors. They open with a dizzy Leo barely managing to stand up behind them.

"Yooooo…"

"Leo!...what happened to you?..."

"Oh nothing much Katy...just took a small tumble is all!...hahah...ow…" Leo turns his neck as his helmet emits a sad face "So what brings the two of you here?"

"I'll leave it to Lammy to answer that!" Katy pushes Lammy forward to reply, much to the lambs dismay

"O-Oh...y-yeah...I guess I d-do...h-heh…"

"Well i'm all ears!"

"W-Would you mind...s-singing a song?...I found o-one that h-helped me calm down...b-but I didn't know the n-name...now I do a-and would appreciate it if you c-could sing it!..." She shuffles in place, embarrassed to even be asking.

"Well i'd be glad to! What's the song you wanted me to sing?"

"I-Instant...c-crush if that's..o-ok!..."

"Oooooh...that song. Man I only like...sung that once and made it like literally impossible to hear. Reason being was that it was meant for specific ears that it just didn't reach. So I tried to cease the places it could reach. Course if you're asking. How can I say no?" He motions for them to come in "You'll have to give me a bit though to prep my voice."

"O-Of course! T-Take your time."

"Thank you! Now if you excuse me...I'll need her assistance!" Leo grabs Katy and drags her away.

"W-WAIT! I CAN WALK ON MY OWN!..."

"Now _you_ know how it feels!" Katy groans as she's tethered away like a plastic bag while Lammy watches, lost without context.

* * *

"Sounds like we missed a lot…" Matt as as he looks down to Parappa.

"No kidding...sucks that we had to work rather than try and help you out…" Paula sighs after hearing what they missed due to being the only ones working at the cafe.

"Well...someone had to hold the fort down while we were kinda...occupied." Parappa moves his fingers around from feeling guilty "Sorry we couldn't really uh...help out as much."

"Don't worry over, trying to patch up things is probably the better thing to do right now." Matt shrugs with a half hearted smile "Just wish the attempt was a success."

"You and me both. But I mean she doesn't full on hate me...so I can try to fix it I guess? Gotta wait till she decides to wanna see me though what with her saying she kinda wants to keep her distance."

"Again man, I still don't think that's the case given how she acted after you saved her from being flattened…" PJ stops walking "Honestly you should do something about it while ya can, but I understand you wanting to respect her choices. However i'm sure she'll probably call that off before you know it! Hell it may even be today, because you never know! She might have only said that from hurt feelings alone!" _Hopefully Katy and Europa can pull that off...but we can only wait and see._

"And I thought I was the optimist of the group!" Parappa elbows his gut gently "With a guy like you around Peej, I can certainly attempt looking at the brighter side a whole lot more in an easier manner."

"I am a coping toy after all."

"You calling me a little kid?.."

"Well you fit the size."

"Stooooooop…" Everyone laughs lightly, including Parappa himself "Gotta keep reminding myself to be around you all more often whenever I start faltering in the joy department. The more of you guys I'm around the easier it is to recover and stay like it."

"Yeah you really should Paraps. I don't want this to become a regular thing." Rammy frowns "Granted I'm technically the reason any of this happened at all so…"

"No. It's mine. I guess I didn't properly handle it as well as I thought I could. Had I tried to see how I could better connect all of you it would've gone better."

"Don't toss yourself out with that assumption. After all look at how MY first encounter with her was. I was slammed into the ground with ease! From that point on I stubbornly went to get at her back! I even changed my lifestyle temporarily to do so!" He smiles the same way he did as when he played the dj at Club Fun "So it shows that sometimes things are better left handling on their own."

"Same here. Were it not for her saving my ass, I'd probably never give her the chance."

"Me and Ma-san were sensible enough to just give her a go from the get go!" Paula fistbumps Ma-san as the guys roll their eyes.

"As you can see, there are moments when your help will be needed, and there are moments when it's best to see things handle themselves. Isn't that right you two?" The both of them smile and nod "Exactly!"

"Heh...I'm just glad you all managed to accept her with ease. And hey, that just shows that once this is all over. Lammy will as well."

"Uh...yeah!" _Europa said that you're gonna actually need to help there...I hope you can think of something._ "Everything will go by smoothly, but maybe you should help her out once she decides to talk to you again. It'd probably make things easier."

"I'm gonna have to agree with him there Paraps, Lammy and I just struggle when it comes to seeing eye to eye after things started getting worse between the two of us… So I openly welcome the help here." She scratches her nose as a single sweatdrop falls across the side of her face.

"Then expect me to help as much as I can!"

* * *

"So I gotta do what again?..." Katy pats her chin with her tongue stuck out in recap.

"I'm gonna need effects to bring across the bigger emotional feel that i'm planning on showing! But I won't be able to control that many backup dancers. You hide along the back and summon yours to help along! You still have your belt right?"

"Of course! I always carry it on! Never know when it'll come in handy~ Like now!"

"Good! Also…" He rummages in a instrument rack and hands her a bass guitar "Here!"

"Whoa whoa hold up!...I don't know the song you gotta play!"

"Listen first. Look my hands are kinda….in heavy pain. I can't hold my guitar up properly let alone play it. So along with the music that i'll have playing, I want you to play along with it in order to give more of a power output to the back up dancers, my suit and the club effects!"

"This seems so flashy and over the top…do you really need all this?..."

"Look...I have...several doubts that the song itself will full help her...so...I'm gonna be showing who I am…" He removes his helmet. His body finally able to take the lamb form again "If she sees me it'll probably help out her thought process. And then I'll explain the whole dealeo once the song's over."

"That could work! Having Lammy see a chance that she can still win him over will certainly pick her up tremendously!"

"Exactly! Quick thing though, do you remember how to change the shape of your backups like I told you?"

"Nope!"

"Oh boy...Ok lookie here because this is how you can make it so these guys don't look like the one wearing them. Have the image of what you want them to look like in your mind and then touch the belt. Otherwise it just makes a clone of yourself." A back up of Parappa appears in between the two of them "Recall how you know they're like in your heart…" The Parappa shakes his head, as if waking up, before looking up at Katy and speaking up.

" _Hi Katy! Where are we? Oh...Leo's club..."_

"Wow!"

"Perhaps a bit to accurate…" Leo sighs before continuing "And lastly have the beat flowing through you and the belt will pick it up and fill the clone in on what it's gotta do, based on what you're already trying to do!" Leo starts humming as his helmet lights up with a small simple beat. The Parappa's eyes widen.

" _LAMMY!...S-She's still not upset with me is she?!...W-What can I do to help! Need me to sing? I gotcha covered!"_

Katy smiles before looking back to Leo "Well clearly I remember the first and last part! But the second part caught me by surprise. I'm amazed I didn't need to do that for the clones of me…"

"Well you answered that yourself. Why would you? No one knows you better than yourself! So you already had the answer subliminally. Like I said, it'll create a clone of you if you don't really focus on a specific person before creating them. And the acting portion is all apart of the mind, and you already have your own personality built in! So for that, the steps aren't needed in that regard. Like I said, this is only in case you wanted to change the shape. Never know when you want diverse back up dancers or vocals or anything of the sort during a gig!" Leo snaps, sending the clone Parappa away.

"'Neat! That will certainly come in handy~ Alrighty, so what clones are you gonna need specifically?..."

"Ok, this might get a bit tricky...I want you to create clones that look like me, but with the helmet on."

"Uh-huh?"

"Then during a certain point, the clones are going to have to take their helmets off. I want you to instead replace my head with Parappa's, Rammy's and Lammy's heads on them instead."

"You really thought this through…" Katy taps the side of her head "That's a lot, but it doesn't sound difficult to do. Alright!" She picks up the guitar and strums it, multiple clones are brought up in the shape of Leo "WOOO! Let's do this!" She starts jamming in place. The clones mimicking her pose until she throws her arms in the air. The clones toss their helmets and show different heads of Parappa, Rammy and Lammy.

"Excellent! We're ready to go!" They both fist bump the air before heading off. Leo lowers the lighting to the entirety of the building.

Lammy notices the darkening area and immediately panics "U-Uh...is...this part of the song?...I m-mean I understand atmosphere and everything, b-but at least warn a g-girl first…" The light on the stage illuminates as it starts changing in shape. The floor around her also starts moving around "W-Whoa!...h-how flashy is this g-gonna be?..."

A green light illuminates the stages as it appears to look similar to the festival that happened two weeks ago. Smoke emanates as the green and violet strobe lights appear all over the place. As the smoke becomes slightly clearly Leo appears as the melody begins to play with a snap of his fingers.

"Whoa…" The beat was the same that Lammy was listening to when given to her by Niles. However witnessing the effects that seem to compliment the beats made her mind clear as she just listened on as Leo began to sing.

" _I didn't want to be the one to forgeeeet...  
I thought of everything I'd never regreeeet...  
A little time with you is all that I geeeet...  
That's all we need because it's all we can take."_ Two clones spin from behind Leo as they begin dancing on instinct.

" _One thing I never see the same when your 'round  
I don't believe in him… his lips on the ground...  
I wanna take you to that place in the 'Roche'  
But no one gives us any time anymore..." _More back ups appear, but not on the stage with the main three. These dance with the light effects to add a more psychedelic feel.

" _He ask me once if I'd look in on his dog…"_ Leo waves his hand in a circle, creating a light image of Parappa's head.

" _You made an offer for it, then you ran off…"_ A red line floats around the image of Parappa, ending up as a heart.

" _I got this picture of us kids in my head,  
And all I hear is the last thing that you said..." _An image of Lammy's head appears in his other hand, the heart however vanishes.

"I listened to

 _ **your**_ _problems. Now listen to_ _ **mine**_ _!  
I didn't want to anymore, oh oh ooooh..." _The small Lammy head had mini fumes emit from its face as the Parappa face turn to a frown. The Lammy head frowns as well as they both vanish.

" _And we will never be alone again...  
'Cause it doesn't happen every day!" _Katy's bass is heard as the Lammy image returns with a full body this time, a heart held within her hands.

" _Kinda counted on you being a friend...  
Can I give it up or give it away?..." _The image sadly looks down as it lets the heart go.

" _Now I thought about what I wanna say  
But I never really know where to go…" _More clones start appearing for the areas higher up, these dancing differently than the rest. The Parappa image reappears as well, also with a full body as it stands in front of the Lammy one. The Lammy images fails to speak a word to him as it struggles with what to say.

" _So I chained myself to a friend...  
'Cause I know it unlocks like a door." _The Lammy image is suddenly yanked away from the Parappa one. When it tries to run back to him, she is tethered back by an unknown force. The Parappa image runs up and tries to tug the image free, but no luck.

" _And we will never be alone again!  
'Cause it doesn't happen every day." _Suddenly the Parappa image ends up getting dragged back. However the duo reach out to each other as the binds snap, the images crash into each other and vanish.

" _Kinda counted on you being a friend...  
Can I give it up or give it away?..." _The Lammy image reappears flat on her face. The heart she dropped earlier within her grasp, she reaches out for it, but it floats away.

" _Now I thought about what I wanna say.  
But I never really know where to go...  
So I chained myself to a friend..." _The image gets up and runs after it. She ends up finding another image of her. The other Lammy had her wrists in chains, the chains were attached to the heart she's been chasing.

" _Some mooooore agaaaaain…."_ The free Lammy image looks down sadly as they both vanish.

" _It didn't matter what they wanted to see...  
He thought he saw someone that looked just like me!" _Lammy reappears as she sees the Parappa image reappear. She chases after it, only for it to be speaking to an image of Rammy.

" _The summer memory that just never dies...  
We worked too long and hard to give it no time." _As the Lammy image walks away, a younger image of her and Parappa run by. They looked like the age of when they first met at the age of fifteen. Three more versions of the duo run by representing their time at the ages of sixteen through eighteen. The visualization at the age of nineteen has only Lammy staring at a hospital bed before vanishing. The original Lammy image then turns around towards the Parappa and Rammy image and runs back to them.

" _He sees right through me, it's so easy with lies...  
Cracks in the road that I would try and disguise." _The light on Leo's helmet dims as the Lammy image returns to where the other two were. She stops, unknowing of what to do now, but the Parappa image simply extends his hands. He grabs the Rammy image's hand in his left, and the Lammy image's hand in his right. He then brings them together, causing their hands to meet.

" _He runs his scissor at the seem in the wall...  
He cannot break it down or else he would fall..." _The ewe images shatter as they end up getting trapped within a heart. The Parappa images grabs one of the stray shards and tries to slice it open to free them, but struggles to do so as he fears damaging the heart. He drops the shard and falls to his knees, holding his head in pain. He along with the heart that contains both the Lammy and Rammy image pieces simply vanish again.

" _One thousand lonely staaaaaaars…hiding in the coooooold...  
Taaaaaake iiiiit... Oh I don't wanna sing anymooooore..." _The light on Leo's helmet fades entirely as Katy's playing takes over. All the backup Leo's grab their helmets and remove them. They toss them away revealing the faces of Lammy, Rammy and Parappa. All of them appear sad, but they continue dancing. Except for the real Leo who stops dancing entirely, and only sings from this point onwards.

"I listened to

 _ **your**_ _problems. Now listen to_ _ **mine!**_ _  
I didn't want to anymore, oh oh oh…"_ The original two back ups remove their helmets. The one on Leo's left had Parappa's head. The one on his right has Rammy's head.

" _And we will never be alone again!  
'Cause it doesn't happen every day...  
Kinda counted on you being a friend...  
Can I give it up or give it away?…" _The two backups grab Leo's arms and begin tugging on him. Yanking him as if they were trying to pull him apart.

" _Now I thought about what I wanna say.  
But I never really know where to go...  
So I chained myself to a friend...  
'Cause I know it unlocks like a door." _They tug harder before letting go and watching him drop to the floor.

" _And we will never be alone again!  
'Cause it doesn't happen every day...  
Kinda counted on you being a friend...  
Can I give it up or give it away?..." _They walk up to him and pick him back up.

" _Now I thought about what I wanna say.  
But I never really know where to go...  
So I chained myself to a friend.  
'Cause I know it unlocks like a door…" _They look at his helmet and then grab his hands.

" _I don't understand... don't get upset...  
I'm not with you…" _Leo let's go of their hands and grabs onto his helmet.

" _We're swimming around,  
It's all I do, when I'm with you…" _Leo takes it off. Revealing a face similar to Lammy's. However much to Lammy's awareness. His head was severely different from the other Lammy heads that the clones had.

" _And we will never be alone again  
'Cause it doesn't happen every day  
Kinda counted on you being a friend  
Can I give it up or give it away…" _The lights go from green and violet to a deep fuchsia as Leo's entire outfit turns pink as he drops onto one knee.

" _Now I thought about what I wanna say  
But I never really know where to go  
So I chained myself to a friend  
'Cause I know it unlocks like a door…" _Light swirls around his wrists as they materialize into chains.

" _And we will never be alone again...  
'Cause it doesn't happen every day.  
Kinda counted on you being a friend.  
Can I give it up or give it away..." _The Parappa and Rammy backup grab the chains and hoist him back upright.

" _Now I thought about what I wanna say…  
But I never really know where to go...  
So I chained myself to a friend...  
'Cause I know it unlocks like a door..."_ Rather than chain him away, they walk up and release the locks on his wrists, setting him free. As the song ends all the backups except for those two vanish. The remaining two hop over to Lammy and extend their hands out, wanting to escort her over to Leo. Lammy warringly grabs on as she walks up with them. Once next to him. The final backups vanish and Lammy simply stares at Leo who struggles to maintain eye contact back.

Katy hops down from where she was perched and runs up to the two "Heh...this will be one hell of a thing to explain to you."

"..." Lammy pulls out her phone and simply begins typing on it.

* * *

"You know I always wondered…" Parappa stares at a vacant lot "I wondered if we could...you know petition to rebuild or remake places. Such as that large place that went down in a fire ten years ago. Or that warehouse we used to hang out in…" He snaps his fingers as he thinks up something better "Or to reopen club fun!"

"Well...you gotta recall that the reason they haven't been rebuilt by now is that there's no real interest in them anymore." PJ becomes slightly disheartened "You'd think the club would've managed interest, but after Mushi heading on out and with us doing our own things...guess the hooks the place had were lost. Plus now there's a lot of clubs EVERYWHERE in places around. Like with Club Rainbow for us. So with situations like that we don't really have much...not unless we got lucky with people with interest…"

"PJ makes a point...we can't really manage with just us…"

"Shame to...i'd love to go back there...so many memories…"

Parappa sighs after Matt, Paula and PJ end up saddening themselves, but before he can speak up his phone vibrates "Huh?..." upon checking his phone, he smiles "Well. I'll find my own way to bring attention to that, but for now let me get your attention with this. Lammy forgave me!"

Everyone is immediately elated while PJ breathes a relieved sigh before smiling.

* * *

"T-This...explains why the song c-correlated to me so much...I...g-guess I taught you it…d-didn't I?..."

"Eheh... once told me a song that you had in your heart that you could 'feel' during your struggles in love. It wasn't until much later that you turned it into a song that could be heard…" Leo shuffles in place "You...never sang it in public though...the only time you did was to me only…Heh...sorry for uh...using it for my own gain...but if it makes you feel better...I only sang it live once and made it really hard to get…" He bashfully rubs his head, but Katy speaks up, ignoring that portion of what he said as she instead is caught interest by.

"Huh...I figured you'd sing it to me to at the very least…" Katy's ears drop in disappointment.

"Eheh...she didn't wanna upset anyone with her sadness!...I mean she got over it...it was more of a vent thing that she would do every once and awhile…"

"I guess I can understand that. Sometimes some things are better left to the person themself to handle…"

"I-I'm still s-sorry…"

"Don't be! That's future Lammy's decisions! You're clearly not future Lammy yet! But even still, you have your own rights on how you wanna handle things. It may sadden me, but I as your bestie I understand!" She winks as she grabs Lammy's hands.

"Well...I guess s-seeing the whole e-explanation via dance and s-storytelling...Do I have a chance?..."

"Of course! You clearly see my face don't ya?"

"But...am I your real m-mother?..."

"Ah...can't spoil that...but have the comfort in knowing right now...you may be. And i'm alright with that...Mother." He looks towards Katy "And...also mother...this is already awkward…" Both giggle before hugging each other "Aww! Now that's just sweet~" They quickly pull him in for the hug "AIEEE…Alright fine...~"

Once the hug ends, Lammy stares at the duo and meekly asks "Um...I...really w-want to get along with Rammy...h-honestly...my feelings aside...I just wanna stay friends with Parappa if it means I can interact with him at all...and that means with her to...S-She seems like a nicer person after all...and y-you say we get along really well…" She shrugs "I wanna s-see how that goes...but I need help…"

"I can help there!" Katy bounces with determination "I think I can manage something! I just need to make a call! I have an idea and it involves a certain someone! Also you!" She grabs Leo and yanks him away as she runs off to the backroom.

"H-HEY!..."

"Oh m-my...I hope it does help me…"

Once the duo are away from Lammy, Katy begins calling Parappa "Why do I need to be apart of this?"

"Well. I saw how that song clearly got to her, and I thought 'Hey! Why display a performance for Lammy AND Rammy showing that it is easy for them to get along!"

"But that was a song that was literally meant for her!"

"And I doubt that it's the ONLY song you've heard! I'm sure the two of them have had plenty of songs that symbolize their friendship that you can use!"

"Eh...I mean...I guess...but I don't know if that'll work…"

"You don't know if you don't try! Now shush! He picked up!"

* * *

"Huh?...Now what…" Parappa pulls out his phone again "Oh it's Katy. You guys keep walkin, I'll catch up when I'm done."

"Alright, don't take to long!" They all carry on as Parappa answers the phone, hearing some slight arguing on the other end "Hello?...What happened?..."

" _So I take it you see that Lammy forgave you?"_

"Yeaaah?..."

" _Great! You can thank me and Leo for that~"_

"What?! How? When?-"

" _We'll tell ya later! You mainly gotta thank Leo for it, that's all i'm saying! Now this is why I'm calling. Lammy wants to get on better terms with Rammy, but wants help doing so because she's still the tiny bit doubtful over givin her a chance. Mind helping out?"_

"Of course! Ironically mere moments ago Rammy asked for the same thing!"

" _Wow really?...What luck!"_

"My thoughts exactly! But uh...how do we help?..."

" _Gotcha covered there. See here's what we gotta do…"_

The call went on to a point the others wondered if Parappa would ever catch up to them, and just when they were about to turn back he appears.

"Gaaah...that went longer than expected…"

"What the heck did she want?..." Paula asks as she stares at the exhausted Parappa, tired from running all the way to them.

"Let's just say...we're gonna have to head over to Club Rainbow this Friday!"

"That's in two days...what the heck did you you two set up?..." Rammy tilts her head in heavy curiosity.

"A joint gig. And so she wants you guys to join in and watch!"

"Huh…alright." Rammy shrugs it off.

"I have no qualms. If anything this is good!" _Very good even, that means we can finally cut this to a close...man_ "How bout the rest of you?"

"Count me in. Everything can finally go back to normal now."

"What Matt said, and we can party while that happens!" Paula stampers in place happily.

("If it's a gig she's asking for, chances are I'm gonna be needed. Either to play or for moral support. I couldn't miss it even if I wanted to. Which I don't because I also wanna relax and see this end to.")

"I'd be happy to join since I'm invited!" Sweety smiles as she clasps her hands together.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world man!" Rammy nods happily.

"Perfect! Then in two days! We go!" Parappa points forwards as the sun beacons off of him for dramatic effect.

"What are you pointing at?..."

"Ah...sorry...just wanted to...nevermind." He rubs his arm as his face glows pink from embarrassment.

* * *

"And that's that!"

"So what was supposed to be me singing and dancing, became YOU two singing and dancing?"

"Hehe...I might have gotten way into the moment and forget the full gist of it…"

"No worries Katy. After all it was you two alone that helped them originally."

"Well I still want you as apart of it for the effect dealeos! What you did now was to good to pass off!"

"You know...you can do that as well...I can show you how to, it's really eas-"

"Uh uh! Why do that when I have you son!" She smiles in a manner that makes him unable to deny.

"Alright...come on Lammy's waiting. Go inform her on the day."

"Gotcha! Come on!" She grabs Leo and yanks him away again.

"WHY MEEEEE…"

After the duo inform Lammy on their planned 'gig' she simply sighs in relief that she'll finally get to relax again.

"I have to go and say that I'll no longer be staying at that other apartment...and I gotta return this disc to Niles…"

"You were at your old apartment the entire time?!...wait...NILES gave you that disc?..."

"Yes and yes...I-I'll explain o-once I'm b-back home…i-if you'll let me go ba-" Katy crushes the lamb in a hug.

"Of COURSE you can go back! It's your home as much as it is the rest of ours!" She lets go of her as they both turn to Leo "Well we'll be seeing you in two days!"

"And I'll be waiting! Although I'll be keeping my helmet on if you don't mind. Please be keeping this a secret ey Lammy?"

"I will!...um...can I...c-come back here to just...c-chat with you?...Like whenever?..."

"Sure, but may I ask why?" He raises an eyebrow with a calming but confused smile.

"Well...y-you clearly hung around me a-a lot...so you know my...v-vent tactics… I would l-like to know h-how to calm down during major struggles...i-if that's alright…"

"Of course it is. You're welcomed any time. After all you have my number." He gives her a thumbs up before they say goodbye and drive off.

Meanwhile in the distance, a few faces watch from beyond in spite.

"Gah…seeing him speak with them is sickening…" Bruter says as he speaks to the four that follow him after watching Leo disappear into the club.

"You know Bruter, maybe it would've been better had you not taken up Leo on his offer…"

"Don't ya think I know that? Honestly I thought that runt and his posse couldn't do shit… Now I'll admit getting caught off guard by him was the worst mistake I'll ever let myself make. Man if it was a challenge battle I'd best him any day...ah but fuck it. We can't set foot near that place anymore anyway." He growls as he walks off "Come on let's get out here…" As they five of them walk off. They are stopped by a large limo that drives up nearby them. The window to the seat way at the end opens up.

"Hello there you fine dressed fellows. Would any of you happen to be the proprietors of this magnificent specimen of a building over there?" It was Tycoon.

"Man if we were, why would we be standing way out here?" Bruter fumes as bubbles start rapidly overwhelming his fishbowl helmet.

"Because you may be leaving for the day. Is that so bad an assumption?" She smiles as he bow tie glows.

"No. But the answer is also no. We do not own the place. Unfortunately that position goes to an undeserving softy…"

"Oh? And you don't sound too happy to be talking about them."

"Why wouldn't I? Asshole constantly undid what I was doing for the benefit of the place...and then ended up getting us evicted from my own words with a lucky call...Needless to say I hate that guy…" Bruter's posse share his anger as they all grimace.

"Oh he's a fellow gentleman is he? I was planning on making him an offer to join my circle of...talent."

"Don't even think about it unless you want to lower your overall quality man. He ain't worth it…"

Tycoon laughs "Is that so?" He rubs his chin "You clearly despise the lad...but thanks for the heads up. You saved me from a poor business choice." _Of course I don't actually believe these fools, but playing with their anger seems fun… I don't really like to have competition when it comes to establishments either. If I can use these fools to mess with him, I can play off as the hero in the end and offer my assistance when it comes to recuperation...two birds with one stone!_ "How about this? Since you helped me out, I'll help you out! You don't like him or his little club her correct?"

"Yeah...I'd like to bring him down a notch...or just flat out take him to the ground...him and his stupid worthless club!"

"I may be able to assist with that! Come on in and join me the lot of you! I'll be able to supply with objects you'll need to take him down a peg." The five of them think it over amongst themselves before Bruter turns back to him and nods. The doors open and they all hop in and immediately the car drives off.

After a moderately long drive they arrive to a building in the middle of nowhere, its size beats Club Rainbows, and even the hotel of Neon heights. The car drives in through the entrance as it stops in the center of the main room. Everyone exits and Tycoon leads them over to a specific direction.

"Careful where you walk. There are tons of twists and turns for the many rooms I have that you may get lost if you don't follow me."

"Sheesh man...talk about your overdone spectacle...you wanted to invite HIM into this? Talk about a dodged bullet."

"And that's precisely why I thank you for the warning! Now come come. This way right here through this large blue doors!" As the group walks through they are greeted by a man who wore an outfit similar to Tycoon's his hair was black however and did not wear and form of glasses.

"Ahhh big boss! You returned!...with strays? How odd you are never to pick up those without any semblance of talent!" He head extends from the body revealing him to be a cyborg and not an actual human. He hovers over Bruter "This one's so...scruffy and slimy...no good traits to work with whatsoever…" Bruter swings for the head, but the robot simply recoils back.

"HEY! Who asked you?!"

"Touchy touchy. Why if you can't handle any criticism then you aren't fit to be-"

"YISMUN!"

"Yes B-Boss man?" The cyborg recoils in fear.

"I didn't not approve for you to berate my guests of honor."

"G-Guests of honor?...THEM?..."

"Yes. For you see they saved me from a poor business decision and I opted to repay them by helping me...demolish a waste of talent!"

"Oh...OH! I see! Like Minded people! I am terribly sorry…" He bows before the others before retracting back up "So then Big boss I assuming you're wanting to give them the 'scout'?"

"Yes. It should pose simple for them to use. Lead them to it."

"Right away! Follow me please! Mind telling me your name you devilish man with an outrageous jawline and...jaw!"

"Cut the kiss assery... Name's Bruter."

"And what a fine name it is!"

"Whatever...the Shrimp, Crab and Lobster are Temp, Coco and Rocky respectively. The dame's name is Tundra." The trio all nod while the swan scoffs.

"A lovely bunch! Now if you look over here. You'll see the 'scout' right over there."

"You mean that weird lookin car?"

"Well yes it is a car, but that's for the mobility factor for...THIS!" The car extends as the back opens up and out pops out a mini cannon.

"Whoa...what the hell?"

Tycoon walks up "You see here, i've reverse engineered this device to be made in a model of vehicle from my product line while keep the schematics of the cannon. Granted the size had to be shrunken down to fit in the vehicle, and it still has the blasted restriction."

"Restriction?"

"The cannon can only gain power and fire if there is a steady income of music."

"Pshah! That's nothing! My boys, tundra and I can easily fit that quota with the greatest of ease! Ain't that right." All of them grunt in agreement.

"Excellent! I can as well, but I rather not trivialize myself with having to deal with that. But trying to remove the restriction is proving to be a problem in its own right. However back on topic. I will loan you the Scout! Simply do as you please in blasting the fools club down a notch!"

"Won't the authorities get in the way?"

"Will the authorities be able to stand up against your newly acquired firepower?"

"Good point…" Tycoon snaps and Yismun tosses Bruter a set of keys "Heh...got a target practice zone?"

"Drive the Scout to that room over there." Bruter nods as the five of them pile in the car and drive off. Once they're gone Yismun walks up to Tycoon.

"Boss...those five seem like the most inept people i've ever seen…"

"Oh believe me...they completely are!"

"And you're helping them?!"

"Of course. Because they'll be doing the damage, not I!"

"You think that club owner will take this lying down?"

"Well of course not, but it's either they die and prove to truly be worthless, or survive and show that I need to get them under my wing as soon as possible." He chuckles "I simply want to topple their establishment and then be the one to lend a helping hand as these fools take the fall."

"But with the Scout they'll link the crime back to you Big man!"

"If it comes to the fact that these bumbling imbeciles are to be captured. You are to make sure they get a clean getaway back here. They can become our menial labor and I'll work my 'magic' with that fresh face of talent and increase my dream's progression! The only problem will be if the lad from five years ago appears…"

"Oh but he dropped off the face of the earth Big man! I doubt he'd be anywhere nearby!"

"True, but one can't help but be wary...now hush up. Our guests return." The five of them drive back up to them with demented grins on their faces.

"This baby can pack a punch...and we'll be able to bring him down with ease! Way down...six feet under…"

"Good! Now do you plan to strike now?"

"No. Friday."

"Why wait?"

"He's planning something big from what I overheard! Him and the one that helped him swindle us...We're gonna strike when they all line up like sitting ducks!"

"I see...well then...you're free to take the car. And take this. Simply press the button to come into contact with me alright?"

"You got it...say...what's ya name?"

"Simply call me Tycoon! The gracious benefactor!"

"Got it Tycoon. Thanks for this lovely opportunity!"

"A pleasure my boy! Now drive off and prepare! You only have two days after all."

"Right! Come on let's get our vocal chords prepped guys!" They drive off with massive speed as they are watched by Yismun and Tycoon in disgust.

"Absolutely pitiful...but I do enjoy bending them to my will~"

"It truly is a glorious sight when you do so! Honestly who knew that strays could provide such a fun menial work force for yo-"

"Ah Tycoon! You've returned!"

"Speaking of which…~" Tycoon turns to look at a large dog man with a well built physique walking towards him.

"I must say old boy it is certainly nice to have you return early! Did the deal transaction go by smoothly?"

"No James my dear deskman it has not. But it will go better come Friday!"

"It's Joe old bean."

"Yes yes that's what I said Jeremy."

"Ah...nevermind. So why Friday and not today? I thought you'd said you'd be giving them an uh...what was it...offer...they can't refuse...right?" Joe ponders as to what Tycoon meant by those words.

"I was, but someone seemed to want to do it more than I. And I being the generous soul that I am! Offered them the opportunity! Like with me picking you off your feet and helping you out!"

"And help you did! After I ended up being cruelly evicted from my hometown...my wife to be and I thank you!"

"Exactly! I helped them out in a similar manner! Aren't I such a saviour?~"

"The best old bean!"

"Yes...the very best~..."

* * *

" **WELCOME ONE AND ALL ONCE AGAIN TO CLUB RAINBOW! Now i know we had a little topsy turvy time with my scheduling, but I assure you things are BACK on track and ready to go! Why this is even supported by the fact that the masterful Parappa the Rapper and the lovely Katy Kat from Milkcan planned a duo performance! Are you all excited?!~"**

" **YEAH!"**

" **Then keep that excitement building!"** Leo snaps, allowing music to play as he hops off the stage and heads to the back room to meet up with the aforementioned duo "Everyone's a waiting! And Rammy and Lammy are even close to each other! This is gonna work flawlessly!"

"I can only hope...and uh...Leo?"

"What is it my man?"

"I uh...gotta apologize for my hostility against you recently...I may have uh...simply let somethings get to me...I don't even know what those things are! And I took em out on you...but you really are just a cool dude...even if you are eerily mysterious."

"Eheh...save it for when you guys are all fully patched up ok?"

"Roger that! Imma go hype up the crowd some more! Don't take to long Katy."

"Oh I won't be to slow! But you can't blame me for wanting to be a tad fashionably late." She winks cutely as Parappa rolls his eyes and walks off. Katy then speaks to Leo "You know...I worry how his emotions will handle this…"

"Currently?...I uh...dunno how to explain it…"

"...What do you meaaaan?..."

"Um...this…" He plucks his helmet off. As expected his head currently resembles Lammy. However it also resembles...Rammy. Leo's head is divided as half of it is red and orange while the other half is black and gray.

"Whoa...how-"

"He's apparently thinking of the BOTH of them equally at such a massive amount…."

"...Hey...why not take your helmet off?..."

"NO! Paula, Matt and Parappa don't know my face!"

"Why not let them in on it?..."

"I...I can't...Paula and Matt maybe...but dad himself?...I'm...heavily against that…"

"But think of how easy things could get if we ALL knew!"

"I mean yeah, but…"

"Look...just...expose your face! It'll be a massive help for Lammy and Rammy to get along...and after that you can just get Parappa in on it…"

"Mother I can't…" He places the helmet back on.

"But you won't even try to help us fix this?...it'd help so much...you don't even know..."

"Gah...I…"

"...Just play it off as a special effect then...we'll explain it to Parappa another time I guess…"

"I'm sorry…" He looks to the ground defeated.

"It's fine. Come on just get your guitar. Let's not keep everyone waiting." She sighs as she walks off.

"Ok…" He grabs his guitar and follows after.

The music they play rallys the building, their friends included. The duo play as they try to get the two ewes to get closer towards each other in an attempt to ease them, but it was easier said than done. Slowly progress was being made however as the duo started shuffling closer to each other. The music started getting more energetic as Parappa and Katy played as if they were children again whenever they would try to cheer up the children at school during dreary days with their singing back in the day. Eventually the duo begin speaking and dancing next to each other. Leo takes Katy's words into account and sighs as he stops playing his guitar and begins removing his helmet. The crowd's dancing slows once they notice what he's about to do as they gasp, but before he can fully remove it, the club violently shakes as if it was hit with something.

"WHOA…"

"W-What the hell was that?!..." After Parappa announces this, everyone begins panicking and scrambling about prompting Leo to speak over the microphone.

"EVERYONE STAY CALM! DO NO PANIC!" Another blast hits the club as it violently shakes causing the ceiling to begin to break apart "Ok...so much for calm…" Leo snaps his fingers causing a staircase to unearth itself from the floor of his stage "EVERYONE! DOWN HERE! FOLLOW THE PATH AND IT'LL LEAD YOU SAFELY OUT IN NEON HEIGHT'S MAIN STREET!" Everyone pours in without hesitation until it's Parappa's group left "You guys to. Get in there and run."

"What the hell will you be doing?..."

"Inspecting the damage." He runs to the outside of his club.

PJ grabs Leo mid run "LEO ARE YOU CRAZY?! DO YOU NOT SEE HOW STRONG WHATEVER THAT THING OUTSIDE IS TO BE SHAKING THIS PLACE?!"

"I'll be fine PJ. You guys, run now. As the owner of this club, the safety of its patrons is what comes first."

"And you?"

"I'll be fine. I promise you if the situation proves to grim. I'll be back to escape as well alright?..."

"You better…" PJ turns to the others "We gotta get out of her now!" They all nod and run down the stairs as Leo exits the building.

Once he's outside he sees a car wildly driving around the building and firing from a cannon perched on the back. Driving the reckless vehicle is a face that simply enraged him. He runs out to 'greet' the drivers.

Parappa meanwhile stops running midway as he turns back to look at where they came from.

"Parappa what are you doing?..."

"He's taking forever...I don't think he's gonna be joining us guys…" The ground violently shakes.

"He'll make it! Right now we gotta GO!"

"Yeah...i'll go alright…" Parappa runs back to where danger was as the rest watch.

"P-Parappa!" Lammy chases after him, but another tremor causes the roof of the tunnel to come loose. She's saved by Rammy who manages to hold the thing steady.

"GAH...H-HEAVY…"

"R-Rammy?!-"

"D-DON'T JUST LOOK AT ME LIKE A FUCKING IDIOT...G-GO!...Y-YOU GONNA HELP HIM AIN'T CHA?..." Lammy looks at her and nods with determination as she runs off towards Parappa "You better keep him alive…" PJ and Katy yank Rammy back as the ceiling crumbles. The path back towards the club is now blocked off "Heh...thanks...that was a close one you two…"

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!..." they both shout at her.

"If she wasn't gonna go help him, I would've. Hell you both would've done the same if you were much closer to avoid the falling rocks." She stares at the rest "All of you would've done the same...now come on. If we head out we might be able to snag a cab back over there to help them ASAP."

"We gotta hurry if we're gonna do that!..." Matt says as everyone continues running again.

 _Those two will manage...after all...they're the most_ _extravagant_ _out of all of us..._

 _A/N_

 _Well with this, it marks the amount of chapters I'm able to manage with ease on a computer. I'll be leaving for a long while and may not be able to update as frequently unless I can manage with a tablet which still may take a while even then. If I cannot manage then updates will resume come September. Thank you for reading!_

 _Also I don't take any credit for the song. That honor goes to Guy and Thomas from Daft Punk and Julian Casablancas!_


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